Fight or Flight
by purplemudkip31
Summary: When it boils down to it, all of our instincts can be summarized into one simple question: fight or flight? And in this world, these instincts are tested to their limits in what is only known as the Hunger Games...
1. Let It Begin

AN: Okay, people, before we start on our… adventure, I'd like to say one thing that wasn't mentioned in the summary: This is a _parallel_ universe. It's the Hunger Games universe, with a couple tweaks here and there.

This is my formula for this crossover- _Maximum Ride_ characters (humanized) + _Hunger Games_ concept = this story.

Nope, Katniss and Peeta and all of those friends will not be here. I think I've answered any questions. Oh, except for the ones you might have about the differences between this world and the _Hunger Games_ one.

They'll be explained as we go along. Now, ready? Let the (insert random number here) Hunger Games begin!

* * *

Grass and dust. I'm in a field… it's beautiful… just a wide open field, with gently rolling hills… exactly like the land I'm used too…

Dust motes float in the air, catching the sunlight. They look like glowing balls of light… Occasionally, maybe once or twice a year, this happened. It was always in the fall, after we'd harvested the wheat and the leftover dust and scraps of the plant floated around when a breeze stirred them up.

Overhead, the sky is clear and blue… perfect. I inhale a deep breath, spreading my arms like a bird's wings. I wish I could fly, to soar above the grassy plain… I'd be a hawk if I were a bird, strong, fierce, and beautiful. The maximum. Like my name… Maximum Ride.

"Max…" a familiar voice calls, "Max…"

I stare around, confused. There's no one else in this grassland. Who could be calling me? And from where?

"Max… wake up…"

My eyes snap open, staring into a pair of brown eyes that were almost identical to mine. My little sister, Ella.

"Whhhyyyy…" I moan, rolling on my side as a wave of tiredness hits me.

She let out a gusty sigh. "Reaping day, silly. Your last one. _I_ still have another two years before I'm free…" she adds ruefully.

"Ugh," I mutter oh-so-coherently. I want my dream back… It's the middle of summer now. Not post-harvest. No floating orbs for Max.

Ella sighs. "You aren't getting up, are you?"

"Nope."

She stares down at me. "Fine. Be that way. I have reinforcements. Or a reinforcement, for that matter."

Ella's eyes gleam with mischief. I glare back. "Don't bring Ari's friend in here. Please no," I plead.

Ari and Ella were both my half siblings. Ella had the same mom as me, Valencia Martinez, and Ari had my Dad, Jeb Batchelder. Ella's dad died before she was born… she was an accident. Ari's mom had died as well… I had known her. Sweet Arianna. Shy and trusting, she had resembled Ari a lot.

She had died giving birth to him, and Jeb had named Ari after her. I'll admit, I don't like my dad much, but this was one of the things that makes him acceptable. My family relations were complicated, to say the least. I mean, for example, my mom wanted me to have her last name, and my dad wanted his on the birth certificate, seeing as I, too, was an accident like Ella. They were never married…

The doctor had gotten exasperated and put down a random last name while they were fighting: Ride. So… here I am, with the name Maximum Ride.

But enough about that. My sanity and possibly my life were on the line when it concerned Ari's best friend…

"Alright, I'll get up," I mumble, staggering out of bed.

My little half-sister skips over to my closet, opening it easily. "Now, what for you to wear…" she wonders.

"I can pick that out myself," I say, pushing her out of the way. Contrary to my words, I stare blankly into the closet, clueless as to what to pick.

Ella's too fussy about this sort of thing. She loves clothes and fluff and frills and ugh… It makes my head hurt thinking about it.

I content her by choosing a pair of simple brown pants ("Max, there're too plain!) and a nice white and blue shirt ("Max, you should've gone with the gold one!"). Yup. That's the extent of my fashion abilities. Or wants…

I just pull my sun-streaked hair in a ponytail. I don't care about anything more complex. I don't need it, it's just in my way. Stretching again, I head into the kitchen.

My mom's sitting there, eating a piece of bread and staring out the window. At the sight of me, she stands up, padding over to me and looking me over. "Good morning, Max," she says softly, "I hope you're ready for today."

"I'm always ready," I reply, still a little irritated from my awakening, "And besides, my chances of getting picked are very low."

"Of course." She nods. "You're free for the morning. No one needs to hunt, and the plants will be fine for a day."

Yeah, hunting. It's the only way to survive out here. Thanks to a combination of natural disasters and the enhanced UV radiation, human life had changed dramatically. Out of each of the eight districts, each had its own unique wildlife that resembled that of before the huge disastrous times…

Technology? Almost completely gone, reduced to before the Stone Age in a lot of places. Only the Capitol continued with advancements.

Humans without mutations? Forget it. Everyone had them, based on where you lived… The radiation had sped up the evolution process. Those that lived in the fields of District Three have long legs and plenty o' stamina. Another example would be that the tree-hoppers of Six and Eight are very small and lightweight, with short, powerful legs.

Welcome to my life.

When I step out of the house, I'm immediately met by Ari's friend… Trix.

Bellatrix Myers. Fourteen years old as opposed to my eighteen, she's intelligent, beautiful, and loves power. Her reddish hair connects back to her Irish roots, as she'll proudly tell anyone, and it is, ah, indicative of her short, fiery temper. Seeing as I like to be in charge, and she prefers to be the "Alpha" of sorts, we don't get along that well…

"Oh. You," she states with disdain at the sight of me.

"Well duh. This is _my_ house. I'm allowed to stay in it," I reply coldly.

Trix steps back, tossing her shimmering curtain of hair proudly. "I was just coming to see if Ari was there. Is he?"

I shake my head at the mention of my thirteen year-old brother. "Not here. No idea where he is."

She looks a bit disappointed at this. "Oh well. I'll have to find him myself. He better not be sleeping in…" she mutters, glancing around.

I shudder. I've heard how Trix wakes people up… it can involve water, her jumping on you, or a variety of other tactics. Yet another skill for her to boast about (a lot).

Almost as if he had been called, Ari pops his head around the corner of my house. "Hi, Trix!" he says enthusiastically.

Her face lights up at the sight of my blond haired little brother. "Hey, Ari," she replies, skipping over to him. "Excited for the reaping?"

"As long as I'm not chosen…"

Trix laughs. "Of course."

I watch them walk away, talking happily. They've been friends for a very long time… Their differences were startling, though. Trix is… bold, to say the least, and Ari's on the shyer side of things. Opposites attract, I guess. Either way, they made a cute couple… not that I'd say that around them.

I look up, examining the sky. Perfect and cloudless, just like my dream. It nice and bright on my city…

It was more of a large village, I suppose. The only on in Three. Yeah, yeah, it's a big place, but here's the thing- we don't use most of the land. We only patrol our borders, make sure no annoying tree-hoppers or Vulcans (people from the volcanic fields of District One) got our land. Besides, more land to hunt. More land means more food. Simple.

Yawning, I look around. People are starting to head to the square for the reaping…

The Capitol made the Hunger Games to let us get out anger that we have over border disputes and things like that. I heard that it previous times, maybe the approximate five hundred years ago before the great disaster, it wasn't this bad. The extreme loyalty to a District and hatred of all others didn't exist.

I cannot imagine a world like that…

Before heading to the center of town for the reaping, I walk to the edge of the village. Lucky my house is close to that. With a few quick, practiced climbing strokes, I'm at the top of the tall wall that separated the town from the great outdoors.

Outside, the hills flutter with grain and grass from the wind. It's relatively flat, actually… the hills are low and few.

I glance around more carefully, searching for any signs of grass wolves. Nothing. Good.

I jump from the wall easily, absorbing the impact with my long legs. The evolved humans of District Three have legs that can absorb much more impact than the humans of the past, from the shock of running for long periods of time.

Walking towards where the reaping will take place, I note the appearance of the average Three citizen. Long legs, tall stature, brown or blond hair, and brown or green eyes. Trix really stands out.

"Max!" my mom calls out, rushing towards me with Ella by her side. "You were supposed to come to the square with us!"

"Sorry," I mumble, ducking my head. "I was just around… and besides, we can keep going, right?"

She lets out an exasperated sigh. "Yes, I guess we can…"

Taking my hand, she leads me and my sister towards whatever awaits us at this reaping…

* * *

AN: Any good?

Yeah, this chapter was a bit filler-ish, but I hope you got a nice start of the, ah, changes I've wrecked upon the world. Mass destruction and chaos, human evolution starting to take place, my mind… yup. We're covered.

Let's set out a challenge for me… can LittleSpark keep up two stories at the same time? Let's find out!

So… reviews, please?


	2. The Chosen One

AN: Thanks for the reviews last chapter! This chapter will be fairly generic as well, though the differences between this world and the canon will become more apparent as time goes on…

* * *

The walk to the reaping is actually kind of nice. Hot sun, dry weather… It's almost perfect, really were it not for the tainted knowledge that two of the kids here are going to a death trap.

Ella babbles to Mom, trying to stay cheerful. Mom's staying optimistic as well, but I can see the worry in her eyes… worry that one of her daughters might never come back to our house. I know Ella wouldn't stand a chance in the arena… not at all… I at least have a small chance of getting out, but it's not very high and depends on who the other tributes are.

The reapings for Districts One and Two have already taken place, and the tributes are on the train, most likely waiting in the station now. Every year, a different district starts off on the reapings and it goes down in numerical order from there. One kicked off this year, as its reaping was two days ago. Two's reaping was yesterday, and tomorrow will be Four's.

It's not like this every year. Last year, the train started at Eight then went to One. Next year, the train and reapings start at District Two. It alternates every year, and it gives the tributes a chance to interact outside the arena and form possible alliances.

The tributes for One are a guy of a medium build whose name is Brandle, I believe, and a very average looking girl whose name I didn't bother to remember. I doubt that our tributes this year will have too much trouble with them, so long as they don't get the volcanic fields that District One is made of…

Two's tributes are a brother and sister pair. It's very rare for this to happen. They're both blond haired and blue eyed- adorable and short. The guy's name is… Gazzy, I think, and the girl's is Angel. Which is ironic as she looks like a little Angel. She's twelve, and he's thirteen. They're so young…

Ella snaps me back into the present. "So will we be having the berry and cream dessert tonight?" she inquires.

"Of course," Mom replies, faintly amused. "Jeb and Ari will be coming over as well."

Irritation briefly flares up at the mention of my father. I shove it down asking, "Trix won't be coming, right?"

"…Maybe," my mom answers, "With her mother, too."

Trix's dad died several years ago, attacked by a pack of grass wolves. He had Trix's greenish eyes and her lanky form, as well as her clever mind. Now it was just Trix and her audacious mother, who looked almost exactly like an older, brown-eyed version of her daughter. I could stand her mom, and I had liked Trix's dad. Trix herself, on the other hand…

Ella giggles at my expression. "It's not the end of the world, Max," she reassures me, "I'm sure you'll live."

Once we get closer to the actual place though, our chatter grows silent and the air is more solemn.

I head towards the roped-off area, the one for possible tributes. Ella follows behind, but we'll have to separate soon. She greets a couple of her friends, migrating towards the 15 year-old area. I, meanwhile, move towards the 18 section a wait patiently, people-watching.

A guy named Ty embraces his girlfriend before heading to the other side of the stage, the one set up for males. Anna, one of the rare short girls here, bounces around, light brown eyes wide and mouth moving a mile a minute. Nothing fazes her… And Trix… Trix is hugging Ari. She whispers something to him before playfully shoving him in the direction he's supposed to go. Satisfied, she turns and trots over to where she's supposed to stand.

Right in front of me. Only a fifteen year-old girl and two sixteens separate us… So… close… resist homicidal urges, Maximum…

The crowd becomes silent as the governor of District Three steps onto the stage, tapping a microphone. Governor Franzreb is a tall woman with longish brown hair that streaked by the sun: a typical District Threer. "H-Hello," she stumbles over the word, "And welcome to the reaping of the two hundred and seventy-third Hunger Games."

The audience responds with silence. Great, two more kids will die… yay… major sarcasm there…

The escort for the Capitol is a cheerfully ignorant lady by the name of Kisa. She looks so different… bright orange (dyed) hair, really bright blue eyes, pale, freckly skin, and a short stature. Anna, a resident shortie, has proportionally longer legs than Kisa… Capitol people are so different. She skips up to the glass bowls where the names of kids are. One for the boys, one for the girls.

"Hiya!" she calls out, heading between the bowls. "Are we ready for the Hunger Games?" She pauses briefly, allowing Governor Franzreb to read the ceremonial things.

The agreement to have kids to compete in exchange for peace…

The simple rules…

And the list of past victors…

Winners of the Games live in comfort for the duration of their lives, safe and not having to work in a section of town called Victor's Village. We've had 23 victors in total over the last 272 years, and 11 of those are still alive. They sit in a row at the back of the stage.

Kisa trots over to the boy's bowl. "I say, to mix things up, guys first!" Plucking a single slip of paper from it, she reads aloud, "Ty Young!"

The sixteen year-old I saw earlier steps forward, face pale. He's tall, tanned, and a good fighter; he stands a chance of getting out alive.

But his girlfriend… she's shaking. "No…" she whispers, "Not him… not him… anyone but him…"

No one hears her but me…

"Volunteers?" Kisa asks, leading him to the front. When no one responds, she dives her hand into the female bowl. "Let's see who our lucky lady is!"

Before I have time to draw another anxious breath, she calls out, "Maximum Ride! Ooh, that's a cool name!"

…What?

I thought… I never thought… it'd be me…

I am going to die in the arena.

"Maximum Ride!" Kisa repeats, driving the news in further, "Can the owner of this incredibly awesome name come up here, please?"

I'm not sure I can walk. But, somehow, I force my shaky legs towards the stage.

"No!" Ella shouts, "Not my sister! Not her!..." The words fade into a choked sob.

I stare around, hearing Kisa ask for volunteers. I know no one will come. I have been sentenced to die.

Everything seems sharper, clearer. I can see Mom's blank eyes, wide with shock and disbelief. Jeb is staring at me with surprise. Trix is blinking rapidly, trying to make sense of the situation.

But my half-siblings are the worst… Ella is leaning on the girl next to her as if she's unable to support herself. Her brown eyes gleam brighter than ever. Tears.

And Ari… Ari is trembling. His blue eyes are huge. I can see his mouth moving, forming words. "No… please no…"

"And let's have a nice big round of applause for our tributes!" Kisa raises Ty's and my hands high.

No one makes a sound.

I'm only half aware of my surroundings when they lead me to a room in the nearby governor's house. This will be where I have my final good-byes…

They pass in a blur. Ella and Mom, sobbing their eyes out. Jeb, rubbing my back soothingly. Friends and family who've I've all but forgotten…

My final visit is by Ari and Trix. Although I openly dislike her, her tender care for Ari is heartwarming. She's like this whenever he's down, or hurt, or sick… As he walks towards me, Trix's arm is around his shoulders while she murmurs words into his ear, soothing ones.

My little half-brother sniffs, looking at me with huge, sky blue eyes. He really is the image of his mother. "Max?" he starts quietly.

Automatically, my heart melts. He may be almost as tall as Treckle and thirteen, but there was a childlike aspect to his face that made him adorable. "Yes?"

"Come back to us… please," Ari continues, looking down. He starts trembling again, and before Trix and I can stop him, he runs out of the room.

I think Trix will go after him, but I'm wrong. Instead, she turns to me. She pulls out a leather cord necklace, a simple thing. A pair of hawk feathers are attached to the end.

She holds it out to me. "Take care of this, will you? I want it back. It was my dad's."

Something to remind me of home… I can bring one small object with me into the arena. A token. And Trix has given me it... very unexpected…

I accept it, putting it on. Trix turns to leave, but before she can exit the room, I call out, "Look after him, okay?"

She pauses, not looking at me, but I have the feeling that she's smiling. "I won't let him lose himself. I love him too much for that to happen." And before I can say anything else, Trix leaves the room.


	3. On The Rails Again And Again

AN: Seeing as many of the tributes are new to the world, I shall be introducing them all. However, I won't be doing the typical "go around to each District and write a chapter from their POV". Instead, that will be part of the purpose of the train ride…

* * *

The train ride. I've heard about it from the past victors… This is how alliances are generally formed. We'll be monitored 24/7, by security cameras, to ensure that tributes don't fight but we'll be allowed to interact with each other.

Generally, certain alliances are formed between certain Districts each year. The tree-hoppers band together often, in pairs or trios, though rarely a group of all four. Districts Six and Eight win often in forested environments, throwing knives and shooting arrows into you before you know they're there. Then, in the face of danger, they leap off, quickly and quietly, making barely a rustle in the branches… It is very rare that a member of another District joins their almost sacred circle.

Seven and Two also have forest, but the trees there are big, slippery, and wet. Not good for climbing, much less jumping. They occasionally band up with each other, but go solo of team with a tribute from another District more often. They are masters at camouflage and ambush on the ground… I hope a member of one of these two decides I should join their pack…

District Five is very wet and marshy. I'm not joining a swimmer… ick, they'll say I should swim… I hate swimming…

Four and One are closest in environment to my own home. One has volcanic fields- more specifically, the once-ruined land of a huge volcanic eruption from about five hundred years ago. Now, it's ashy and there are a few volcanoes that still erupt. It's dry, but big, and the soil is fertile, so long as water can be brought. It's dangerous, dangerous and hot as magma still flows closer to the surface than anywhere else.

With incredible hearing and plenty of stamina, we'd be able to work together well. Four is deserty, large and arid. Yes… teaming up with one of the tributes from there would work quite well.

I review all this information as I'm led to the train station. Only One and Two will be on there right now, but it'll be a nice start.

With a hiss, the train doors pop open. Ty boards first, with me close behind. Kisa bounces after us, glancing around before saying, "Okay! I'll leave you to socialize, and remember, nooo fighting!" With that said, she trots off, towards another door, happy as a lark.

I blink at the orange-topped figure before turning to stare at the four tributes that were waiting.

The train car we're in is huge, spacious thing, filled with rich red furniture. A TV is on the far wall, and it's playing a replay of the reaping that just happened (mine). A boy with ashy brown hair sits on the back of one of the many couches, watching the screen. A brown-haired girl, in a plush armchair, does the same. District One.

A head with short blond hair faces away from Ty and I. As I watch, a tiny girl with golden curls pokes her head up next to the blond boy's. She looks so young… it's hard to believe she's twelve. "Hi!" she chirps.

Alerted to our presence, the other three tributes swivel around to look at us. The small girl smiles at us, blue eyes huge, the very picture of her name… Angel. When she pushes herself onto the back of the couch, a wide, black leather bracelet is visible on her left wrist. A pair of wings, etched with white ink, is on this.

Angel vaults over, greeting me and Ty with a cheerful grin. "Hi Max! Hi Ty," she greets happily.

Her brother, Gazzy, I think, trots after her, eyes watching us carefully. He short, not much taller than Angel, and stockier than her. A carved wooden owl dangles from a leather cord around his neck. "Hello Ty, Max," he nods to each of us in greeting.

This pair looks like average residents from the cloud forests of District Two. Small frame, blondish hair, blue eyes, a soft tread. The pair's footsteps were practically silent. Undoubtedly they had incredibly sharp hearing, like those from One.

The female from One looks… average. That's the quickest way to put it. Brown hair down to her shoulders, brown eyes, slightly tanned skin. She looks like she could be from a multitude of Districts. "I'm Leah," she introduces herself, "And that's Brandle." She points to the boy from her District.

He looks a lot more like a normal One resident. With ashy brown hair and gray eyes, he looks a lot like the people of what I've seen of that place. He nods at both of us, not saying a word.

Angel butts in, taking my hand and starting to lead me towards the door to another car. "Come on! I'll show you your room! You'll like it!"

I have to admire her optimism, even though she knows that she's most likely going to die. I follow her, across a bridge between two cars. The plains flash by, tall grass waving from the wind. Angel pulls me into the second car before I can stare too long.

This is a big train car, I can tell. A narrow hall stretches from front to back, squished onto one wall. Four doors lead off of this. Must be to the tribute rooms… Two are labeled with 1s, the second pair with 2s.

Angel drags me along, across another gap, and into another, almost identical car. The only difference between this one and the last is the numbers on the doors. Two of these are labeled with 3s. I choose the closest one and head in.

It's simple, but small. A bed with a woven cover is in one corner. There's a dresser, a small closet, a lamp, and a door that's cracked open to reveal a bathroom. Through a large window, the fields of my home are visible.

"Welcome to your home for the next five days," Angel says, showcasing the room with a wave of her hand. "You gotta change- leave your old clothes in a corner, keeping the token on you. This is how they know what it is."

I mumble, "I figured that." Opening the closet, I glance back to look for the younger girl, but she's gone, leaving a closed door in her wake. I know she's quiet, but she's also very quick… hm…

Shrugging, I change into an outfit I found. They keep typical outfits for District Three stocked, much to my pleasure. I bet it's that way with the other Districts as well.

Sturdy brown leather boots. Shorts made of a thick material. A greenish shirt with stitching that would make it blend into the grass. And then the hawk feather necklace. This works for an outfit and it reassures me with familiarity, making my chance of panicking lower.

I make my way to the first car, pausing on the bridge. The grass is just starting to get shorter, gaining the brownish tint of grass that doesn't need much water. We're approaching the desert.

When I get in that first car (a living room, too, I guess), it's apparently time for a siesta. Brandle is stretched out on one of the couches, completely out of it. Leah's curled on the arm of a chair. Usually Ty doesn't sleep easily, so I heard, but the warmth of the sun washing through the windows is making him fall fast asleep on another, smaller couch. Gazzy and Angel are out cold, sleeping side by side on a mound of pillows.

The heat does feel nice… It's a pretty day out… the smell of warm sand and dried grass is drifting through the open window… Even if I'm sentenced to die, I can't help but relax.

I decide to sleep as well, the drowsiness of earlier stress and warm sunlight taking over. Selecting a couch, I fade off, the motion of the train lulling me to sleep…

* * *

I'm woken by a powerful gust of hot wind and sand. Sputtering, I roll off the sofa involuntarily.

Screwing my eyes tightly shut, I blindly fumble until I'm behind the couch. The wind is less fierce here, so I open my eyes, blinking grit out of them painfully.

It's a wild scene. Sand is everywhere, whipped by the wind. I think we drove into a sandstorm… with the windows open, nonetheless… Great job, Capitol people. Great job.

I can barely make out the dark outline of attendant, fighting to force the window down. With a thump, the first of many closes.

"What the hell?" Brandle's voice shouts.

Somewhere in the cabin, Angel screams before it's muffled, with Gazzy's voice shouting "Get in the cushions! It'll be safer there!"

The wind is rushing so incredibly quick and hot… Sand is pelting itself against my lower back, the part unprotected by the couch. Mini-vortexes of sand swirl everywhere, making this place one full of agony and dryness.

Squinting, I can spot a small pile of pillows, shoved against the back wall by the wind. It's just big enough for me to be safe… I dive for it, keeping my eyes shut as I burrow into them.

It helps, but sand continues to bombard my legs. Gradually it slows, finally stopping altogether when the Capitol attendant slams the last window shut. He slumps against the windowed wall, exhausted. He runs a hand through his hair, and a shower of sand falls out. Outside, it's dark, evening as well as a sandstorm. "Welcome to District Four," he pants, leaning his forehead against the window.

* * *

The next morning, my bed is gritty. I though I'd gotten out all the sand… dang it…

Angel is banging on my door. "Max! Max! Come on! You're going to miss the reaping!"

"Already?" I groan, rolling over and making the sand move.

"Yes!" Ange bursts in, grabbing my hand, "We gotta watch on the TV!"

She drags me into the living room, where the other four are watching groggily.

"Why now?" I moan, tired.

"Because, by tomorrow, we gotta get all the way across the continent," she explains, gaze focused on the TV, "The train will be moving at a slightly faster speed, but it still takes a long time to get there. We have to set off early."

"How do you know this?" I wonder aloud. Angel opens her mouth, about to reply, when she's interrupted by the escort for District Four on the TV.

It's a guy with light blue hair. These hair colors get weirder and weirder by the day… "Okay, it's time to pick our female tribute!"

I've missed half of it, but the important part (knowing your opponents) is still to come. That escort plunges his hand into a bowl, picking a single scrap of paper. "Raven Ishu!" he calls.

A girl with black hair and brown eyes pads up, strong but nervous. Her hair's dark for the District…

The male, "Iggy Griffen!", is pale for District Four, the opposite of her. He's incredibly tall, walking with careful strides to the stage. He looks scared, understandably…

While we're watching the Iggy on the screen, the doors open behind the group, bringing in a strong, sandy breeze.

I turn to glare at the trio that has entered, Iggy, Raven, and the blue-haired dude. The blue-haired dude shrugs at my confused expression, saying, "That's at least a half hour behind. Always is."

He rushes off, leaving us tributes to mingle. Angel comes across a horrible realization. "More sand!" she whispers in horror, staring at the grains of the stuff that cling to her curls.

* * *

Iggy sits with Angel, Gazzy, and I, talking. Angel, oblivious to any awkwardness that might ensue, clambers onto the couch, laying on it. She strokes Iggy's hair, marveling at the odd texture. "So weird," she says, stroking a strawberry blond lock, "Nothing clings to it…"

He laughs. "Yeah. Specialty of District Four. Nothing sticking to my hair! Unless water gets in it…"

"The exact opposite will be with Five, right?" I ask, glancing at a nearby window. Outside, the desert is speeding past. It doesn't seem to end…

Iggy shrugs. "I dunno. I only pay attention to my own District. Mine is the most important, as it is mine."

Gazzy snorts at this statement. "Department of Redundancy Department, to the tribute train car, please."

The smaller girl continues to pet Iggy. "What happens if your hair gets wet?" she inquires, changing the topic back.

"It stays wet for forever and a day. It doesn't need much moisture; it doesn't absorb any, really. It'll stay wet where it doesn't reach the sun for a long time." Iggy pauses, thinking. "Actually, I don't need much water at all."

I'd noticed that. All eight of us had opened the windows earlier, finishing cleaning sand out of the car (stupid sandstorm). The first six of us had eaten recently, a big breakfast with lots of liquids to quench our thirst from the arid air.

The same six of us were hot and thirsty after this exercise, drinking a lot of water. Raven and Iggy weren't bothered a bit by the heat and dryness. I envy them for that…

"Isn't that the opposite for District Five?" Gazzy asks.

Angel thinks for a moment. "Not quite, I think their hair sheds everything entirely. Water, sand, mud, you name it."

"That makes sense..." Gazzy says. He glares at his sister. "How do you know all this, anyway?"

The girl grins, sitting up. "'Cause _I_ actually study, unlike you."

Iggy tilts his head in confusion. "I don't think District Study goes _that_ in-depth…"

Angel shakes her head, grinning widely. "I do some research on my own, that's it."

"Nerd," Gazzy name-calls.

"Weirdo," she retorts.

"I am not," her brother protests.

"Yeah, you are."

"No more than you…"

"Are you calling me weird?"

"Why yes, yes I am."

"Guys, guys," Iggy shoves the two apart, accidently pushing Angel off the back of the couch, "Calm down, break it up."

Angel lands with a loud thump and shout of protest.

I get up, ignoring the laughing and playful arguing of the trio. I head to a window, looking out. It's about noon now, and the transition from desert to grassland is almost complete. We have a total of about 1500 miles to travel, so I've heard, and we're going about 60 mph…So we'll arrive in the station in about, eh, 23 hours, I think.

Oh boy… that's a long time on this train.

When I look out, I see movement in the grass outside. As I watch, the shapes turn towards the train until they're running alongside us.

Grass wolves… a huge pack of them…

They're farther west than normal, but they still have incredible speed and stamina. Before these guys arose, the fastest wolf was clocked at 57 mph. That was a black timber wolf, what eventually migrated southwest and evolved into grass wolves…

The grass wolves keep pace with the train, shooting it curious and cautious glances. One, with a mottled brown and gray pelt, shoots forward, closer to the train than the rest. It looks at us, and I swear it looks straight at me. Leaning its head back, it opened its jaws in a howl, running without any visible effort.

The wolves have the train surrounded. All around us, the haunting cries of the wolf are rising in one song. A song of survival, of a new era, of hunts and kills and sky and freedom.

Angel stands up, staring at the wolves with an awed stare. Iggy is looking at the window, eyes wide, with Gazzy doing the same. Across the train car, Ty throws back his head and joins the wolves in howling.

Moments like these occur only once in a lifetime… and with my lifetime drawing inevitably to a close soon, I lift my head and howl with them.

* * *

District Five is pretty. It's been almost a day, but I still have the melody of the wolf floating in my head.

All around me, I can see marshes and water. Sure, I hate water, but it looks pretty now. The train startles a flock of birds, which take to the air noisily.

It's peaceful, and if I stick my head out the window and listen closely, I can hear a rushing noise. The ocean.

The gentle power of the sea is washing away my fear, fear that still remains after and attack early in the morning… We were crossing into District Five from Two at maybe four in the morning when there was a huge thump from the living room/car, followed by an ear-splitting shriek of metal and a cat yowling in pain.

That woke us all up… A sky leopard had jumped on the train from above. Angel and Gazzy weren't as shocked as the rest of us, but they were shaken as well.

The cloud forests were dark, foggy, and quiet, but here, by the sea… Gulls and other birds called to each other in the air, flying on the salty air. I spot cypress trees in the distance.

It's an entirely different world from the ones we've left behind, and one I don't know at all. This strange world… But a beautiful one. The marshes have cranes and alligators and frogs. I think I spotted a rabbit running through the swamps earlier.

The city of District Five was built in a place that used to be known as South Carolina. The full District was spread up and down the coast.

After a couple of hours of speeding between the marsh and the beach, we arrive in the city. It's a low, sprawling thing, not as impressive as Four's place, but at least this one doesn't shove a sandstorm in our faces…

It's cloudy out, and it seems the entire world is decked with shades of gray. Dark silver sea, pale gray sky, the water reflecting with the color of steel. Very pretty, but I prefer browns and greens and yellowy tones of the grassland.

Angel drags us all to watch the reapings again. I doze for the first little bit, until the first name is called. "Nudge Carter!"

A dark-skinned girl trembles as she steps up. I feel sorry for her- she doesn't look like she'd hurt a fly. When volunteers are asked for, no one replies.

The male, "Kevin Carr!", is tall with medium skin. He doesn't shiver like Nudge, instead staring at the ground wordlessly. No volunteers come for him, either.

All eight of us remember the time delay. Simultaneously, we turn around. As if on cue, the doors open just as we finish our about-face. The stunned looks the escort and tributes give us are priceless.

* * *

Angel shows Nudge to her room. When she comes back, I expect Nudge to arrive in the next few minutes after exploring.

It's almost a full half hour before she arrives, dressed to impress. Who she's trying to impress, I have no idea.

Unlike the rest of us, she looks like she actually put a fair amount of care into her outfit. I can tell that the rest of us were thinking, "I'm going to die anyway. I'm allowed to wear what I want. And I want comfort."

But Nudge… Nudge is wearing a flowy, light brown dress. Seashells and beads make a belt of sorts, and sandals are on her feet. In her hair is the shell comb she had on when she arrived.

Angel stares in surprise at her. "Why are you wearing that?"

Nudge gives Angel a weird look. "Because it looks good. Duh."

Angel's brother interrupts before she can reply. "Your name's _Nudge_?"

She nods, a light starting to glow in her eyes. She looks like she'd be a perky girl normally.

When she speaks, however, I wish she'd never opened her mouth.

"Yeah, what did you think it was, Queen Fluttery Buttercup Dia Dazzle of the Fairy Dancers? I know, it's weird, but I like it. I think it's kinda plain, actually. I wish it was like, longer, like, Tiffany-Krystal or something pretty like that. I mean, of all the names my parents could've given me, they pick Nudge. That's not a name you shy away from or admire, it's one you think of as weird. What's your name anyway? Isn't it Gazzy?"

…Nudge will be a name I will shy away from for the rest of my life. She said all of that in one breath.

Gazzy blinks at her, stupefied. "…Yeah." I can see he's confused, too.

"What the heck were your parents thinking?" Nudge gives her opinion without a second thought, "What does it stand for? And I thought Nudge was weird! What does it stand for, Gas-man or something? How did they name your sister such a fitting name when they gave _you_ such a strange name?"

…This is going to be a long ride… a long, loooonnngggg ride.

* * *

The train flew throughout the night. I was lulled to sleep by Nudge's gabber, but when I awoke, she was silent (THANK GOD) and asleep.

I love Nudge, I really do… but that mouth of hers could drive an angel to murder. She's a sweet kid, really. I could figure that much out. Her optimism and sociableness leaks onto everyone in the car when she talks.

I sit up, dislodging a blanket. I'd slept in the main car last night, with the other tributes. We'd chattered (mostly due to Nudge) ourselves to sleep.

The curtains are closed, making it dark inside. I stand, moving a curtain aside.

…Whoa.

It's a forest. I knew that we were in Six, but… the pictures of it don't have the same effect as this place in real life.

The forest is huge, trees tall and leafy and stretching so, so far in every direction. The leaves tint the light green, and when I open the window slightly, a rush of cool, high-oxygenated air tickles my lungs.

It's beautiful, but… I feel enclosed here. Trapped by the branches. I can only see occasional flashes of sky.

Turning away, I move the curtain back. I could feel the train just starting to slow. It takes a while to get to a halt, so we aren't quite at the city yet.

I'm curious to examine the outdoors. It's an odd, torn feeling- claustrophobia and interest mingling.

When I look carefully, I can see occasional scratches in the bark. Weird…

I don't think more of this, instead waiting for the other tributes to wake up. We keep the curtains shut, liking the dark calm. Outside, it's noisy and birds are making an odd medley of tunes.

Nudge takes the longest to wake up. When I carefully poke her, she moans loudly and kicks. Clearing my legs from under me.

Oww…

The thud I make makes her wake up groggily. "Max?" she slurs her words, "Was that you?"

Her dark brown eyes widen when she gets the glimpse of me on the floor, clutching the back of my knees. They'll bruise, I'm fairly sure. "Max! Ohmigod, I'm so so so so soooo sorry Max! Did I kick you? I forgot to tell you I kick in my sleep. Oh crap, I hurt you, I didn't me to do that, I'm so sor-"

I clamp my hand onto her mouth. "Nudge…. Shut up."

She makes a mmph noise of acknowledgement, but doesn't talk when I remove my hand.

The reaping here won't be until late afternoon… we waste the day away sleeping, eating, and playing random games. Angel is crushing me at poker when the reaping announcement comes on.

As usual, we rush into place. Nudge is beside herself with excitement. "Ooh, I can't wait to see the girl here! This is so exciting!" She silences herself when Iggy jabs her in the ribs.

As usual, I ignore the boring introduction stuff. It's so dull…

"Toria Holmes!" The female tribute's name brings me out of my half-sleep. I'm curious to see who possesses this odd but cool name.

She's practically prances to the stage. Yes, prances. She has an odd, almost hopping gait similar to a bird… a predatory one. A grin lights up her face, terrifyingly enough. She seems confident that she can win it. She looks only 15, but… I think she could. She may be lightly built and short, but she looks cunning.

Her hair is mottled, an orangey base with streaks of brown and black. This isn't unusual- mottled and multi-colored hair is common in Six. Her eyes are a hazel and gleam with… bloodlust? Arrogance?

Unsurprisingly, no one volunteers. No one does for the guy, "Aley Ryeman!", either. Toria shoots this guy a ferocious glare. He glowers at her back.

Yet again, I remember the delay. The pair should be walking through the door soon…

After a few minutes of waiting, no one appears. Then, I can hear shouting at the edge of my hearing. What's going on?

There's a young male's, deep and very loud. Is this Aley's? A female's shout answers his words, this time sharp. There's a loud thump on the train, and we all look up in surprise.

The doors open, and the escort is holding Aley, while a Capitol attendant is grabbing Toria's shoulders. The tributes themselves are yelling at each other with fury, struggling to fight.

The attendant practically throws Toria inside the train. The girl manages to grab a seat, spin herself around, and land on her toes. The boy is shoved in as well, and the doors are slammed with a threat of, "Don't you dare fight, or else!"

The two glare daggers at each other for a solid minute. The train suddenly jumps into action, more roughly than normal. Some of us stumble, but the two from Six stay perfectly balanced.

Toria turns her head, looking at us. She's even shorter than she looked on the TV. Small is apparently the norm for Six, though. She tilts her head to the side, examining the room carefully. She smiles, showing her teeth. "Hello," she says.

Even bright and certain Angel is cautious when she approaches this girl. There are some people in the world that just _feel_ dangerous. Toria seems to be one of them. "Would you like me to show you your rooms?" she asks in an even tone.

Toria nods, looking straight at the smaller girl. "That'd be nice." She scrutinizes her with narrowed eyes. "You're name is Angel, isn't it?"

"Yeah…"

"Lovely," Toria replies shortly. "Where're the rooms?"

Angel doesn't take her hand like she did with Nudge and me. Instead, she paces around her, beckoning a finger as she heads to the rooms. "This way…"

When they leave, the rest of us shoot glances around. Nudge breaks the silence (surprise surprise). "What did you think of them?"

Across the room, Leah shudders. "I don't like them. Usually, the Sixers are cute and quick-witted, it seems, but this year, they're just plain scary."

Iggy makes a motion to indicate their shortness. "But they're so small! I could fit Toria in my pocket."

"I doubt she'd enjoy that…" Ty mutters.

Angel reenters the room, trotting lightly towards Gazzy. "I swear, I am never talking to both of them at once again."

"What happened?" is her brother's immediate response.

"Bad stuff. They started fighting again. Toria separated easily enough, but I practically had to shove Aley in his room."

"Yikes…" Iggy hisses under his breath.

Nudge stands up. "I really hope they stop fighting soon. It'll get irritating quickly, and I honestly don't want them to get in trouble. Besides, they probably are really nice people normally, and being together is just making them-"

"Argue? Disagree? Please. We've been doing that for years." Toria's voice comes from the back of the train car, startling us.

She changed clothes, and with a dark brown vest and pants, cream-colored long-sleeved shirt, and dark green band pushing back some of her hair, she looks like she belongs in the forest.

Stepping quickly and lightly, the girl runs and leaps onto the back of a couch, landing exactly balanced on her toes. She giggles at the alarmed expressions of those of us that were on said couch. "Wimp," she teases. "You honestly thought we could generate an argument like that from a single day or two of meeting? Come on, people. I thought you were smarter than that."

I stood my ground, annoyed. "We _are_ smarter than that, thank you very much. In case you haven't noticed, we've only just met you two. You can keep your unjust opinions to yourself," I finish.

Toria laughs, alighting onto the ground. She walks over to me, looking me straight in the eyes. Her eyes are weird- that brownish green of the typical hazel eye is marked with flecks of an almost orange color. "I like you," she states simply, "You have spunk and, obviously, from the way you responded, intelligence. I might consider you for an ally if you weren't, what, District Three?"

"I am of District Three, with pride," I growl.

The girl tilts her head to the side. "Pity." She strolls off, chuckling, towards an open window. Inhaling deeply, she turns back with a smirk on her face. "It shows. Over-tanned skin, freakishly long legs, dull eyes and hair."

Something snaps. I am beyond furious with this remark. I respond coldly, with my voice steady, "And you're what? A midget who I could snap in half? A cowardly tree-hopper?"

A growl from behind me answers my words. "I take offense to that." Aley steps forward, gray eyes narrowed. Unlike Toria, he has a sturdy build, and more mid-sized in height as well. An almost speckled pattern marks his brown hair. It reminds me a bit of a leopard's fur.

Now I'm surrounded by two people giving me fierce looks. The others are outside this confrontation, too terrified to move or help. Toria snarls, "How _dare_ you? I, at least, was teasing. But you… you've gone too far." She steps closer to me, standing on her tiptoes to glare me in the eyes. "You _will_ pay…"

I sidestep out from between the two Sixers. "No fighting, remember?"

Toria laughs again, leaping onto the couch back again. She seems to like being above the ground. "Oh trust me, I don't intend on fighting here. What I do intend, however, is to win."

Ty snorts. "You? You have as much chance as the rest of us."

Toria wags a finger in response. "_Au contraire_, Three. I will win. If you wish to try and stop me, go ahead, try your hardest." She leans down suddenly to whisper in Iggy's ear, "But you'll fail. I would kill you all if it were to get back to my forests." She stands upright again, facing away from me. "Stay out of my way. I'm willing to be peaceful and chatter now, but trust me, come time to be in the arena…" She makes a slicing motion across her throat, grinning all the while.

* * *

All the Districts have unique terrain, but this one takes the cake in terms of specialness. Seven is rainforest, full of life and bugs and birds and noise. Even Toria's forests aren't this noisy. It's interesting for a few minutes, and then it just becomes raucous and annoying.

We'd entered it late at night, so I was not pleased to try to go to sleep with the cacophony playing full strength.

I look outside, interested in all the stuff to see. There are so many new plants to view! Heck, it distracts me from my claustrophobia to try to look at them all.

"MAX!" Toria bellows from the TV, "Unless the flowers have screens in them, you're going to miss the names!"

I turn, irritated briefly. I stand to watch it, not approaching the aggressive girl. "Twila Meekins!" It's a tiny twelve year-old. She bursts into tears of terror when her name is called. Poor kid.

"Fang Martin!" What kind of name is _Fang_?

This guy is a tall, dark haired eighteen year-old. He doesn't say a word or express emotion as he steps onto the stage.

When these two arrive, little Twila is half-carried by Fang to her room. She's so scared… we all should be that way…

Fang is the only one that reemerges. "Where's Twila?" I ask, moving towards him.

He shrugs. "She won't come out. She's terrified."

"I can't imagine why…" I comment sarcastically. Fang gives a little half-smirk.

"Why'd your parents name you Fang?" I wonder.

"Well, Ella didn't exactly seem to fit, so they chose something better."

I smile. I like this guy. "Ella?"

"If they were going to have a girl, they would name it Ella. If it was a guy, I would be Fang."

"How'd they narrow that name down?"

"Fang or Ella?"

"Fang."

Fang tilts his head up. "I don't know. They've never told me."

I shrug in response, watching the group laugh and talk and give Toria weird looks when she says something. After a long pause, I reply, "My sister's name is Ella."

He looks surprised at this. "You have a sister?"

I nod my head, then shake it. "Well, half-sister, really. And I have a half-brother."

"What's his name?"

"Ari."

"That's a good name."

I look away. Memories of my half-brother are resurfacing. I don't want to face them now… "I love him. But I can't take care of him now. And I probably won't be able to ever again."

Fang wraps an arm around my shoulders comfortingly. I flinch away slightly but don't remove the limb. "I'm sorry."

"And I left him in the care of someone I don't like… She'll take care of him, though. I know that much."

"Do you trust her?"

Fang's question surprises me. I think about my answer, remembering. Trix pouring water on me. Trix showing Ari how to prank me. Trix throwing a spear into a deer. Trix watching my back when a pack of grass wolves is nearby. Her laughing and mocking and arguing.

"Yes."

I can trust her. Ari will be safe.

Fang pulls me closer. "Good."

* * *

"Am I seeing double?" Nudge wonders, looking at the screen. We're looking at it a bit early, and a pair of kids is milling around on it, talking to each other. We're all thinking this thought, too, I'm fairly sure.

I think one's a boy and one's a girl, but it's hard to tell on the screen. Both are short and slender, both have an identical gait on the tips of their toes, both have the same short and spiky black haircut.

Heck, they're wearing the same outfit and their faces look the same! What's up with that? Blue eyes, pointed face, small nose. Exactly the same on each kid.

When it's time for them to settle into their places, the mystery is solved- One heads to the males, one to the females. Aah. Fraternal twins who happen to look freakishly alike, I bet.

I don't doze off this time, instead examining the environment while the ceremonial things are being read. The final District, Eight, is piney woods. The smell of sap and cedar is thick in the air, and oxygen is plentiful as in the other three woods Districts.

"Hazel Anderson! Please come up!"

It's one of the twins, the female. Oh no… the camera pans over the boy's section and I can see her brother's face… It's as horrified as Ari's.

The boy isn't him though. It's a guy called Riley Cho.

Toria examines the girl on the TV with interest. Of course. Another tree-hopper.

They enter. Toria, not Angel for once, leads them to their rooms, chatting cheerfully. This is so different from her normal demeanor…

Toria returns with Hazel. The black-haired girl quietly heads to a corner, where she sits on a stack of pillows.

The female with mottled hair follows her, saying words in a low tone to her.

"What's she doing?" Nudge murmurs curiously.

After a few minutes of Toria talking, Hazel and her shake hands.

"What the heck?" Iggy asks.

Toria pivots around to stare at him. Yet again she's grinning, showing her white teeth. "I got an ally, you don't have an ally, I got an ally, sucks for you," she nearly sings.

Behind her, Hazel smiles weakly.

The rest of us just stare.

* * *

AN: Holy crap… over 6,000 words? That's a record!

Please reward my effort with a review?


	4. Show Off

Despite the fact that Hazel is allied with Toria, I gotta admit, I like her. After she got over her initial shock at getting sentenced to die, she started jumping up on couch backs and stuff. But with her, it was less of predatory hunting like Toria and Aley did, and more like that of a curious cat, I suppose you could say.

It's so weird… the tree-hoppers hop differently. Each of them has their own signature. I never noticed it on TV… Aley was strong but seemed a little less coordinated off the ground than the others. Toria leaps and jumps as if she'd been born to it, with absolutely no balance issues even when she stands on her tiptoes and makes a giant leap. Hazel moves fluidly and confidently, keeping her body lower than Toria. The way she holds her arms makes me think that she'd use them a lot when she usually tree-jumps.

Either way, all sixteen of us are edgy. Twila has finally come out of her room, worriedly nodding to a chatting Angel. Gazzy seems to be getting along with Riley Cho, the only tree-hopper content to stay on the ground. Brandle, Leah, Kevin Carr, and Raven seem to be getting along, talking quietly next to the window. The train is moving slowly now, as we're fairly close to entering the Capitol. Pines still flash by.

Ty isn't in a group, instead fingering his token. It's an interesting symbol on a chain, what could be two hearts or a pair of triangles and an infinity sign.

Poor Iggy is getting assaulted by Nudge (aka, having her talk to him). Nudge doesn't seem the mind his pain, instead babbling on about who knows what.

Toria, Aley, and Hazel flit about the room via table/couch/chair tops. Toria and Aley call insults and taunt each other, sometimes ending in one leaping at the other. Hazel occasionally joins in, smiling, amused. The rest of us get scared when one of them occasionally leaps overhead.

I sit on a window seat in a corner. The noise is a bit more muffled here, and it's a bit more private. Fang rests next to me, not talking. Looking out at all the playing and talking, I suddenly realize that after all this, all this bonding and friendship and time together, we're still going to murder each other in the arena in a few days.

For all I know, Angel could kill Twila, Leah could get speared through the heart by Raven, Iggy could slit Nudge's throat (actually, that last one seems a little more likely after all she's talked to him about). None of us seem like murderers, but life in the hard lane of survival in the wild has given us all the will to survive.

This knowledge makes me gasp suddenly. Almost all of us are going to die, and most of us murdered by fellow tributes.

Fang grabs my shoulder, forcing me to look at him. "Max," he asks calmly, "Are you okay?"

I start to nod, hesitating before shaking my head. Fang's dark eyes soften. "What's wrong?"

When I don't reply, he takes my arm. Using it, he pulls me towards him until he has me in a hug. "What's wrong?" he repeats.

I lean my head back, faintly surprised when I find it against his chest. I reply, "Well… it's just… all this… will be turned to dust in a few days. I mean, we were all prepped to kill. We've seen death at home. But we've never had to kill other humans… We're better prepared for death than Capitol kids, as the risk of dying is so much higher… We've all acknowledged and accepted that fact… I just don't think I can kill these people, Fang. I can't!"

"Shh…" He wraps his arms around me tighter. "It'll be okay. Yes, we won't all make it out, and more than likely someone will kill someone else… but you know what?"

I really don't mind him hugging me. Since he got on the train yesterday, we've gotten as close as two people that are going to die can be. Fairly close. "What?"

"You know your family? Your mom, Ella, and Ari?"

I nod, not looking at him.

"Because of us, they'll be safe from human attack. For us killing one another and dying, so many more can be safe. So many more won't have to experience this. It's noble to be a sacrifice, a tribute, as everyone else will be better off because of it." This is an incredibly long speech coming from him.

"But… Fang?" I look back up at him, eyes wide. "I don't want to die."

"I know," is all he says before he pulls me closer and presses his lips against mine.

This feels… nice… Normally, I'd pull away. But, as I was probably going to die… what the hell, why not… I kiss him back, allowing him to draw me closer...

"Whoa-ho-ho, what do we have here?"

I swear. First time in the arena I can get my hands on a weapon, I am going to _murder_ Toria. I was finally happy, safe (ish) in Fang's arms, and _she_ walks in.

She's grinning at us, showing as many teeth as possible. Her hazely orangish eyes sparkle with mischief, amusement, and arrogance. On her toes, Toria is poised to make a quick escape. That doesn't stop me from lunging at her, falling to the ground when I miss and bringing Fang with me.

"Why you little-" I start to yell, but she dances out of reach.

Taking a few steps closer, she places a finger on my lips to silence me. "Oh, Maximum," she snickers, using my full name, much to my irritation, "You really don't want to fight here, do you? Your time will be so much more successfully spent in the arena." Giggling, she skips back, doing that grin again.

Suddenly, it occurs to me that she might not be smiling, but instead baring her teeth.

"I look forward to it," I snarl, moving into a crouch, ready to spring at her and attack.

"Ooh, someone's feeling violent today," Toria sings, jumping _backwards_ so that she lands on a couch arm. She doesn't have any loss of balance when doing so. What _is_ this girl? "Best save it for the arena, Maximum, you shouldn't fight today!"

Showing my teeth, I move backwards a bit, closer to Fang. "Fine, not today," I growl, "But soon… I'll win a fight against you, Toria. I will make sure of that."

She tosses her head, the mottled spikes of hair swaying from the motion. Chuckling, she responds with, "Oh trust me, Max. You won't walk away from that one." She looks me straight in the eyes, grinning/baring her teeth. "I'll enjoy watching your blood spill out. I'll cherish that moment when the light dies from your eyes. I will love the time when I can feel my knives sinking into you." Her grin widens, an odd light coming into her eyes as she envisions her fantasy.

Dear Lord.

She's insane. Truly, truly insane and sadistic…

Everyone, even her ally, stare at Toria with huge, scared eyes as she says this. Twila backs into a wall, making herself as small as possible.

Suddenly, Toria throws back her head and laughs. "Of course," she says, "That'll have to wait. Until then, Maxie…"

We've been so busy, none of us had noticed the train enter the Capitol and stop. As if on cue, the doors burst open and we're being ordered outside. Toria shoots me a wide grin before strolling off the train.

* * *

Blinking furiously, I try to swipe one of the annoying prep team members, who simply giggles and dodges away. "Now, now," she chides me, "Don't hit us! We're only trying to help."

Right. Sure. Whatever. Putting yellow contacts in my eyes and an embarrassing outfit on me is helpful.

This Hunger Games, we're animals. Well, not literally. In the first century of the Hunger Games, tributes were dressed to represent their Districts main supply/crop. In the second, it was for the terrain. This century, as everyone gets bored of a topic by the end of a century, we're doing animals from the Districts.

And Three is grass wolves. Yay.

The members of my prep team were three chattering females whose names I didn't bother to learn. I don't know the stylist, and usually tributes don't meet him or her.

They had forced me into an odd top that looked like a woven bikini with a net underneath (we're wolves! Not fish! Helloooo?), really short shorts that were mottled gray and brown. Tall boots, sleeves made of grass, and a wolf's paw tattoo on my shoulder added to it. My hair had been mussed up (nooooo…) and grass woven into it (do they _know_ how long it's going to take to get out?).

But that wasn't the worst part.

They'd given me a tail.

A freaking tail.

Please, please, please God, if I survive this and go home, let Trix not see my tail from this, lest I be laughed to death.

Of course, it was fake and removable. But it looked realistic…

I sit and huff while my giggling prep team flits about my face and outfit, making final touches. "Okay!" one of them chirps, "You can go now. Stand by your chariot and wait to start!"

I'm out before they can finish.

Ty's already waiting beside ours, stroking the palomino horses. He has a grass cape, long pants, and several wolf paw tattoos. And, just peeking out from beneath the cape, a tail.

"Nice tail," I comment, strolling over to pet a horse.

He glances at me. "Why were you checking out my butt?"

I snort, not saying anything. He gives me a slightly worried glance before petting the horse again. Said horse nuzzles him gently, begging for more.

I turn, looking for other tributes. I can see the Eight pair, dressed as Pine Pumas in sleek black-and-brown outfits. No tails on them.

Angel and Gazzy look adorable dressed as sky leopards. Gray, white, and dark brown mottle their close-lying jackets. In Angel's case, she has a short dress with black boots on. Thankfully, Gazzy doesn't have the same thing.

Nudge has found Iggy again. She has a silvery, shiny (preeetttyyy) dress on that appears to have winglike fins…. Oh! A flying fish. Nice. Iggy has a headpiece that reminds me of some type of desert lizard.

Those from One are also wolves, complete with tails as well (HAHAHA we're not the only ones). But they're decked out in black, brown, and dark orange gear, complete with yellow eyes like me. I'm aware now of how creepy yellow eyes look. On Ty, they skipped the contacts and let his blue eyes shine, representing the rare grass wolves that keep blue eyes for their entire lives.

A flash of a reddish brown catches my eye. I swivel around to stare straight at Toria. She grins at me, twirling around to model her costume. She's a pine marten (isn't it ironic that pine martens moved to leafy forests?).

"Max." Fang's voice distracts me from Toria.

Sighing in relief that he's finally here, I twist around to find him in an outfit reminiscent of a bird of paradise.

Bright colors, weird feathers, the whole lot. Fang usually wears black.

Must… resist… urge to burst out laughing…

A snicker escapes me. Fang sighs. "I didn't choose the outfit."

"I guessed," I choke out, giggling.

He looks so silly… wow….

Fang glances around at a high-pitched laugh. A hot pink feather, raised over his head by a wire, sways with the motion. I have to fight very hard not to laugh again.

Toria's doubled over with laughter at the sight of Fang. For once, I agree with her, and it takes all of my willpower not to laugh. Fang just looks so… weird. Not natural. Black seemed to be a part of him. No matter how often he'd have to change ("Whoops! Sorry Fang, didn't mean to spill the banana pudding on you!"), he'd always wear black.

He turns to give me a half-amused glare. I giggle, grinning at him. There's nothing hostile in the gesture, unlike that in Toria's smiles. He's about to say something when a girl rushes over.

I know this person. Livy Booth. She hosts the interviews of the tributes, and does a lot of commentating and opening stuff. She narrates the Games and introduces us in the parade we're about to do.

"Hi!" she says cheerfully. With purple hair and an orange triangle tattoo on each cheek, she's very distinctive. She's relatively new, not much older than I, but she bounced around and helped her mother host the Games in years past. This was her fourth year hosting them by herself.

"Um, hi!" I say back. My confusion and slight amount of caution at this perky girl doesn't deter her.

"OKAY!" she screams, attracting the attention of every tribute who wasn't rendered deaf from the sonic boom it probably caused. She grins happily, blue eyes sparkling with mischief and energy. We're afraid of Toria, and Toria seems a bit careful around Livy. Um... "It's time to get in your chariots!" she announces. (I think she finishes every sentence with an exclamation mark)

Something about her says that we should probably obey her. Casting a quick glance at Ty reveals that he probably feels the same about Livy as Toria does. Before I scramble into my chariot, Fang grabs me and gives me a quick kiss before running at breakneck speed to his. Livy squeals like a fangirl.

When I stare after him, Livy shoves me into the cart, knocking me into poor Ty. "Come on! Let's go let's go let's go!" Before anyone can react to that, she runs off towards a set of stairs and disappears.

…

Okay then.

Just when the District One people get settled in their carts, the dark chestnut horses leap forward, nearly throwing Leah out. She recovers quickly, and once they round a bend I can hear a crowd suddenly scream in delight.

Oh, yay, publicity.

The pale gray appaloosas of Two make the cart lurch forward, again making the pair stumble.

Then it's mine and Ty's turn in the spotlight, and as the palominos charge forward, I'm in awe of the sheer magnificence of the Capitol. Bright lights, flashing colors, enthusiasm.

I wave to the crowd, which they love. Although they thickly line the streets, the horses navigate easily. Tall buildings tower above them, piercing the now-starry sky. Giant screens show Livy prancing onto a stage.

"Are you readaaaaaay for this year's Hunger Games?" she calls out. The people around Ty and I scream in response. Livy grins, every one of her white teeth flashing. "Then let's find out who our tributes are, shall we?"

It's almost sensory overload. The wind-chilled air biting my skin, the rough grass, the movement of the chariot. The smell of food and horse. Sight of a pristine night sky and lights and technology I've only heard about. Yells of excitement.

I'll admit, I love it all.

Images flash on the screen as Livy starts her narration. "Okay, first up, we have the lovely duo from District One!" Brandle and Leah show up, both waving. Leah spots where the camera is and starts waving/flailing her arms at it. "Wow, Leah, is there a bee over there?" Livy teases.

Leah puts her hands on her hips and glares at the camera. I think Livy's pouting back. "Just kidding, just kidding," she sings. "And now for District Two! I've heard there's a little angel over there- literally!"

An image of Angel giving the camera an exasperated glance while Gazzy laughs behind her. Angel seems to be yelling, "I'm not short, I'm vertically challenged!"

The announcer giggles. "Right, right, for all you folks who didn't here that, Angel isn't short, she's vertically-challenged. Keep on believing that, kid. And next up, we have a love bird and a loner. Ooh, that sounds cool together!"

A spotlight suddenly flashes on, following me and Ty. Livy answers the confusion at the word _lovebird_. "Oh, our dear Maximum was caught by _moi_ earlier today a-smooching a certain tall, dark, and handsome tribute from Seven. Well, not very dark in his current attire, but whatever."

The light moves on to Four. I blink in the seemingly stronger darkness after the light is gone.

"Over here, we have the people-who-never-tan, but I affectionately call them District Four. For some odd reason, Iggy reminds me of a vanilla ice cream cone, no?" When Livy gets agreeing responses from the audience, she continues with, "Mm, I wonder if he's delicious too…"

On the screen, Iggy's blush of embarrassment is clearly visible. Livy cracks up. "Kidding, kidding, kidding. I like my current boyfriend, thank you. Moving on!"

Nudge shines in the spotlight, waving cheerfully and posing like she'd been born to it. "Ooh, who could our little superstar be? Nudge, dearie, you look lovely, that color is amazing on you!" Livy comments.

The girl gives Livy a thumbs up and a smile, showing off the dress further. The camera moves on.

"Okay, now, we have the first of the tree hoppers!" Livy exclaims, "Look at that fur! I didn't know foxes lived in trees!" Toria pauses in her toothy grin to give Livy an odd look. "Whoops, sorry, those're _pine martens_. And, speaking of a Martin, here comes Fang Martin and Twila from Seven!"

Fang in bright feathers still makes me giggle. Livy happily comments on Fang. "So, we have a literally love bird here. Fangles, do you like her? Do you loooooove Maxie thiiiiiis much?" Livy holds out her arms for emphasis. Before he can respond, she's onto the last pair of tributes.

"We got a twin and a Riley here. No idea how those connect, but we're just going to pretend they do, alright? Alright," Livy agrees with herself. "Hazel, you look like a cat. You really do. Not gonna lie. Riley, you looking dashing as well, don't worry about that."

Ty and I reenter the center, having completed the introductory chariot ride. I can still hear Livy talking in the background, somehow comparing Iggy's "deliciousness" to a chocolate chip cookie.

I can still here people squealing and screaming with excitement. They loved us.

I wonder if they'll enjoy watching us die.

* * *

AN: I'd like your opinion, what do you think about Toria? Do you have any questions about the story? I'll answer them, I won't bite and I love to chat. Feel free to drop them by in a review or PM.


	5. Preview

Jumping out of my chariot, I look and see Toria ripping off her ridiculous fur vest with vigor. After pulling it off she throws it on the ground and takes off a black boot with a heel high and sharp enough to be mistaken for a dagger. Picking up the vest, she trots over to one of the wooden walls and yells, "Anyone else want their costume destroyed since we don't need it anymore?"

I love and hate this girl.

Toria uses the heel of the boot to pin the vest to the wall. Taking off the other, she moves back a bit, weighing the boot in her right hand. Suddenly, she chucks the boot at the vest, aiming with the perfect amount of speed and power and angle so that the boot rips a gash in the ginger fur.

My eyes widen in surprise. I can see Nudge's eyes are as big as saucers.

"Wow," says Fang from directly behind me.

I yelp in shock and spin around. He can move _so_ quietly. He ignores my surprise. "I hope that I'm far, far away from here by the time she gets her hands on a knife."

"Me too," I add, watching as Toria helps Brandle dismantle his tail. Clumps of faux fur fall to the ground like snow. A Capitol attendant rushes in, looking panicked at the sight of the mangled tail and vest.

I can't hear what he's saying, but he's flailing his arms frantically, pointing to the tail then to Toria's boot. He extends a palm, tapping it to signal for her to give it to him. Toria smirks and brandishes it at him, saying something. Behind her, Brandle laughs at this.

"I have absolutely no idea what's going on there," I mutter, "But for some reason, I think Toria likes that boot."

The attendant leaps forward, grabbing for the boot. Toria reluctantly lets him have it, sticking her tongue out at him when he turns his back.

"Tributes, please follow me," the attendant calls wearily, keeping the boot held tightly to his side. Spotting the second one on the ground, he picks it up as well.

He walks off towards a door. I'm almost last, with Fang behind me and Hazel in front.

It's a maze… did we get stuck in the arena early?

Nah, just a huge bundle of corridors and actual doors. I wouldn't be able to navigate around if it wasn't for the attendant.

Up ahead, Toria is sneaking behind the attendant. I think she's hunting her boot.

"Do you see…?" I trail off.

Hazel nods. "Toria wants her boot."

"She really likes that thing," Fang comments.

"Is this a fetish of hers?" Hazel wonders.

I shrug. "I have no idea."

Up ahead, Toria lunges for it. The Capitol attendant must be superhuman, as he whirls it out of her way. Toria lands on her feet, glaring at him.

As we walk on, Toria eventually gives up trying to get her boot-weapon, choosing to pout at the ground and glower at the attendant, whose walk seems to become more smug.

It actually doesn't take too long to get to the house where we'll be staying. We finally come to a set of double doors, which the attendant pushes open easily.

Whoa.

Two hallways lead off the huge room we enter, one to the left, one to the right. A staircase is straight ahead, past a cluster of couches and chairs and cushions that sit in a semi-circle around a TV. One hallway is labeled, "To Training Center", the other, "To Kitchen".

The attendant takes a few steps forward, drawing us all in. Waving a hand at all of this, he explains, "This'll be your home until you enter the arena. The staircase leads to your rooms- they're labeled. If you want food, go in the kitchen. The TV has recordings of many of the past Games. Enjoy yourselves for tonight, and no fighting."

"He always says that," Toria mutters.

He leaves, closing the door behind him and taking Toria's shoes. We all stand around, unsure of what to do, until Nudge moves towards the kitchen. Casting an almost guilty glance at us, she says, "Well, I dunno about you, but I'm going to get some food. Care to join me?"

* * *

"No! I wanna watch this Games! The person was from _my_ District!"

"This one's so much better, you know that… The arena was so creative."

"And the winner was from your District, too."

"This one's amazing! I have this one at home! I've seen it a bazillion times, and I love love love love loooovvvee the winner of this one, even though she's not from my District. Do you think she'll be here? Can I talk to her if she mentors?"

"Nudge, shut up."

We had ordered lots of food, including amounts of popcorn that could probably feed a District for a year, a few minutes before. Seeing as it wasn't instant service, we decided to spend the waiting time figuring out entertainment.

Admittedly, it wasn't going well. But it was hilarious watching Nudge, Angel, and, surprisingly, shy little Twila argue over what to watch.

Twila calmly bends down to pick out a disk. She seems quite confident with the huge variety there, and knows exactly which ones to get. Meanwhile, Nudge and Angel scrabble through the various Games, reading the brief description on each to figure out which ones to try to get next.

"How about this one? This is probably by far one of the coolest. It's kinda old, but the arena is one of the best I've seen," Twila enlightens us.

I glance at the number. The twenty-fourth. Fang, who's sitting beside me, comments, "How do you know that?"

Looking down at the ground shyly, Twila replies, "My family collects copies of the Games. I've seen almost all of them by now."

Iggy nods. "That makes sense. You know a lot about them."

Twila acts more like the less bold side of herself now. "Yeah… I was hoping to, maybe, one day, be a director for a movie or something like that."

Standing, Toria approaches Twila. The younger girl starts to shy away, but Toria simply reads the description. "I think I've seen this one…" she mutters, starting to grin, "Excellent choice, kid. Put it in."

Nodding frantically, the little girl bends down to put the disk in. Smiling to herself, Toria strolls over to a chair and plops herself down in it.

I'm curious to see what this Games is. As the title screen appears, our food arrives…

"Amazing. Most amazing thing ever," Aley comments, eyes wide and shining at the amount of food we're brought.

Chocolate. Milk. More popcorn than we know what to do with. I immediately dig in.

The reapings flash by, but I'm too busy fighting (I mean, struggling with, we're not allowed to fight) Gazzy for a particularly big chocolate chip cookie to take notice of them. I ignore the chariot rides, seeing as I won the battle and was eating it. By the time the arena actually comes around, however, I'm paying attention, having curled up next to Fang with a bowl of popcorn.

The screen follows one tribute up, a girl. I think she's from District Six, having the same lightly-built body and mottled hair. But it's less noticeable there than in today's specimens.

The screen flashes to white, and it seems to remain that way. Then I realize that I'm looking at the arena. A huge, flat white plain. No trees. No rocks. A few streams are barely visible, water so pure on white that it's invisible. A shot of swooping down by the landscape reveals that the sky is a pale blue and that mounds resembling rocks are, in fact, existent in this arena.

But it's pure white. The sun is directly overhead, not casting shadows.

"Holy crap," Angel mutters, shoving a handful of popcorn in her mouth. "That's insane."

Toria snickers. "You haven't seen anything yet."

The view shifts to the tributes. They're clothed in what looks like painting overalls. Pure white, like the caps they each have on. The Cornucopia, pure gold, looks particularly bright in this landscape.

The tributes gasp upon viewing the arena. All that white…

I suddenly see the ground. It has a rough texture, almost like it's woven...

Canvas!

"They're painters on a canvas!" I exclaim.

Twila beams up at me. "Exactly! It's ingenious, no?"

"Very," Iggy comments, staring at the screen intently.

Inside the Cornucopia, it appears to be an artist's paradise. Pencils sharpened to perfection. Brushes of all sorts with long, slender handles. Erasers, some pink, some black, some gray. Large cups, good for holding water. Many, many tubes of paint, with colors ranging from ivory to ebony, pale pink to blood red, blues like the sea and the sky, greens from mint to olive, yellows of sunflowers and cornmeal…

Amazing. I personally don't like drawing that much, but Hazel's eyes are wide and her mouth is open slightly in awe. I guess she draws, then.

The gong sounds. Moving almost blindingly fast, the girl from District Six and the boy from Five run off their plates. Right on their heels, both from One and Eight follow suit. Oddly enough, the boy from Two takes one look at the bloodbath that's sure to follow this race and dashes away in the _opposite_ direction from the Cornucopia.

The fighting is brutal. Turns out the girl from Six knows how to use the pencils as weapons (I have absolutely _no_ idea how the hell she picked that up), and the brush tips end up being sharper than expected. She uses a slash-and-dash policy, darting a short distance away when confronted by someone bigger.

Eventually, seven lie dead on the ground. Both from One and Four, the boy from Eight, the boy from Six, the girl from Two. All dead. The girl from Six stuffs many of the brushes and pencils into her pockets as she can before grabbing paint tubes and a water cup. Satisfied, she runs away.

The remaining tributes reach an uneasy peace. Only a few paint tubes and water cups are taken. The sharp pencils and brushes are a more popular choice.

The screen shows the blood staining the once-perfect white of the canvas. A hovercraft shows up to take away the bodies, then leaves again. For some reason, the camera remains on the Cornucopia.

Then, oh-so quietly and quickly, the boy from Two appears. Moving swiftly, he grabs only a few pencils, picking a few erasers and some brushes as well. He seems to be placing more importance on the paint tubes.

"What's he doing?" Gazzy muses, back in the real world.

"Wait and see." Riley, from Eight, speaks for once.

Toria gives him a curious glance. "You've seen this one?"

He nods. "Yeah. Loved it."

On-screen, the image shifts. From day to night in almost a montage. The film seems focused on the boy. Curious and crouching behind a rock, he learns that the paint is, um, the food. Armed with this knowledge early on, he does better than the others as the Games wear on until there are just three tributes left.

The girl from Six, the boy from Five, and this blond boy from Two. I remember that his name is Peeta or Peter or something like that. It appears that Peeta (which I shall call him) gets a plan…

"What the hell?" Iggy exclaims, watching as Peeta murders the starvation-weak boy from Five, "I thought he wasn't into killing! He hasn't killed before now!"

The plan becomes clear when it's revealed that the Six girl doesn't stir from her sleep when the cannon signaling a death goes off.

Peeta sneaks close to her, finding a strategic rock near her to wait. Painting himself completely white, the boy waits until the sun is directly overhead, eliminating shadows, to make his move. Smearing blood on the ground until it looks like a weak tribute had pulled himself around the rock (and adding a bloody scarlet paint for extra gore), he wakes the girl up by throwing a water cup at her, not risking getting close.

Irritated, the girl wakes up. She sees the blood and paint on the ground, a smile growing on her face. She starts to stalk closer to the rock.

"Oh my god," Nudge breathes, eyes huge. "Is he really going to…"

Her question trails off, answered by the blood-curdling scream of the girl as she dies, ambushed by a camouflaged Peeta.

"Well, that's pleasant," Aley remarks sarcastically.

* * *

I lay in bed, wide awake. Tomorrow's training… preparation for the Games. One more full day of training after that, then a half day with the Gamemakers watching. Then we impress them.

I will myself to sleep, but it doesn't come.

More minutes of no rest...

A soft clanking noise from an upper corner of my room sounds. Startled, I sit up, staring at the air vent. A shimmer of orangey-green shines through the metal bars. Eyes.

The vent opens. It's too dark to see clearly, but what little light there is gleams off a wide grin and hazel eyes. "So this is where this leads to…" a voice says.

"Toria?" I yelp, startled.

She snorts softly. "No, your mom. Obviously it's me. Did you know these vents connect every room here?"

"No…" I stare at her. She seems quite comfortable in the air vent. I've climbed in one once, but it made a hell of a lot of noise when I tried to walk in it. "How can you get around without waking up everybody?"

Toria grins again. "Easy. I walk on branches in the autumn, when leaves rustle and fall off really easily. And I'm not going vertical, anyway."

"Vertical?"

"You can't go straight up an air shaft without help. And that gets noisy."

"Do you know this from experience?"

The hazel eyes narrow. "Why do you want to know?" Her voice goes cautious and colder.

Okay, _now_ I'm interested. If she's this defensive about this topic… I grin, sitting up straighter. "I'm curious."

"No, really?"

"And if you don't tell me, I'll scream."

I can't see her face, but she growls more menacingly than I've ever heard her snarl, "That's between me, my older sister, and that man-whore named Aley. And that is something you don't need to know."

A loud, metallic clunk hits my ears, and suddenly, Toria is standing over me, eyes glinting furiously. "And if you _ever_ ask me again," she hisses, baring her teeth, "whether it be in the arena or not, that will be your last day."

Footsteps sound from outside my hall. Toria instantly springs back towards, and the vent closes quietly. I can barely hear her rapid footsteps, but I'm more aware of Angel and Fang as they dash in, worried.

"I heard a clunk," Angel asks, "What happened?"

I shake my head at her, still imagining the pair of furious hazel eyes. "Nothing you need to know about. Go back to bed, Ange. Tomorrow will be a busy day."


	6. Fire in Our Hearts

"I don't know, but I've been told!"

"I don't know, but I've been told!"

"That breakfast is no good cold!"

"That breakfast is no good cold!"

I stir from sleep, confused at the call and response I'm hearing. Is it Toria leading? And….singing?

A widely grinning face pokes itself into my room. "Rise and shine, Maximum. I know you were woken up last night, but that's no reason to be lazy!" Toria moves back out. I can hear her ordering her followers, "Now, who's going to fetch me breakfast?"

A chorus of slightly scared but enthusiastic yelps answers her question, accompanied by a scurrying of feet. Little kids, I guess.

I have absolutely no idea what that is about. Or who the other, younger voices belong to.

Standing up, I stretch, examining the clothes that have been laid out for me. A light green tank top, a pair of flexible boots, a pair of long shorts. Lovely. Something I'd wear normally.

Putting it on, I exit, almost running into Nudge. She looks sleep-weary and is dragging her feet. They have a kind of tight, intricately woven sandal on them. "Hi Max," she says groggily, rubbing her eyes.

"Hey Nudge," I reply, glancing up and down the hallway. "You seen Toria?"

She glares towards the stairs. "No, but she woke me up with little kids. I have no idea where they came from."

"Slavery?"

The girl tilts her head. "That's plausible."

"Maybe she's downstairs…"

Nudge glances towards the staircase. "Do you _want_ to go looking for that girl?"

"No. But I want food."

"Good point," she muses before trotting towards the stairs.

I follow her down. Once we're on the ground floor, the smell of bacon and other delicious foods drifts towards us from the kitchen. Nudge perks up at the aroma and moves faster towards it.

Inside, Toria, Hazel, Fang, and Gazzy are up and eating. Beside them, a cluster of small children eat as well.

Stepping forward, I sit beside Fang, nodding at the kids. "Who're they?" I ask.

Gazzy answers me, "Capitol kids. Sometimes, they let a group of them in so they can interact with the tributes. It doesn't happen often, but we're lucky, I guess."

"I'm Emory!" announces a bold little girl. She can't be older than nine, but already has one of the alterations that are so common in the Capitol. Her light purple eyes spark with curiosity and determination.

Another girl, this one looking about eight, steps forward. The green streaks in her hair match the color of a clover. "I'm Kanna," she introduces herself.

"And my name's Kito!" A boy, maybe eight, jumps forward, grinning. His pale blue hair sways with the motion.

"Do they have any normal names?" I mutter to Fang.

He shrugs. "I don't have one. I wouldn't know."

Toria props her feet up on a counter, chewing on a pancake. "You there," she points to a small girl hiding behind Kanna, "What's your name?"

The tiny child peeks out. She looks to be about nine, but very small. "I'm… Rose," she says quietly, "My friends call me Rosie…"

Toria freezes. She takes a closer look at the girl. Rosie is small, slender, and dark-haired. Hazel eyes, a few shades darker than Toria's, glance out from her long bangs. Something about her makes Toria stare hard.

Toria relaxes, looking up at the ceiling, grinning. Biting a chunk of pancake off, she comments, "I have a little sister named Rosie. She looks a lot like you."

Turning back, hazel eyes meet hazel eyes. Not for the first time, I wonder about this strange, aggressive girl's past.

* * *

"Welcome to training!" a woman with sturdy limbs exclaims, showing off the room, "Go around, examine the different stations, learn a skill you didn't know before. Who knows, it might save your life!"

She's almost irritatingly cheerful, but at least she's optimistic. At least she doesn't act like she looks forward to our coming demise. She continues, "Tomorrow, your mentors will be here to help you with strategy and things like that. The day after tomorrow, you train for half a day, then show off to the Gamemakers, who will give you a score!" She throws her arms in the air dramatically.

I chuckle. The woman gives the ring of us tributes a confused look. "Well, what're you waiting for? Go and learn!" she shoos us away.

Fang heads for an edible plants station. I, unsure of what to do, walk over to some fake trees in the corner. The trainer is already busy, attempting to teach Iggy how to climb a tree.

He's rather unsuccessful. The trunk is straight for maybe ten feet into the air, branchless. From there, arcing branches nearly touch those of the other fake trees.

"Do you want me to show you how to climb?" Hazel's voice is soft, but it's so unexpected I nearly jump out of my skin.

"How did you creep up on me like that?" I exclaim.

She smiles. "Magic."

Shaking my head, I turn to the nearest tree. It's the same as the one Iggy is attempting to climb, with a long, straight trunk that extends for about ten feet before branching off. "How can you get that high?"

Padding forward, Hazel examines the trunk, staring up it occasionally. I notice that she stands on her toes. She smiles, barely showing her teeth. With a quick glance at me with blue eyes, she says, "Watch."

Tensing her legs, she leaps. It's an incredibly high jump, and she grips the bark with her hands. Using the rapidly fading momentum from her jump, she scrambles up, fingers clutching at the cracks in the bark, feet pushing her up quickly. In a very short time, she's up in the tree, staring down at me with a smile.

I gasp. "Wow."

Hazel giggles. "It isn't that hard."

From the other tree, Iggy yells, "That's what she said!"

Hazel rubs her forehead, like she has a headache. "After more than five hundred years, those are still around," she mutters.

I look at the tree. The bark is rough- it won't be hard to get a grip. I jump as high as I can, grasping at the bark, trying to imitate what I saw Hazel do. My feet don't help me up, instead skidding off. I fall to the ground, scraped up.

Above me, Hazel winces. "That looks painful," she remarks. "Try taking your shoes off."

"That'll hurt!" I protest. In District Three, we rarely take our shoes off, seeing as we might accidently step on a snake in the grass. A sturdy boot can protect most ankles from the worst bites. Plus, the grass is pretty rough, and is not pleasant on an uncovered foot.

Hazel wriggles her toes at me. I finally realize that she's barefoot. Sighing, I remove my shoes and socks.

I jump again, as high as I can. When I hit the bark, I immediately grip it and use the roughness to pull myself up. My feet scrape off little pieces of bark, but they have a better grip now. I finally manage to get into a position where my feet are keeping me on the tree, with my hands hanging on for balance.

Hazel stands up. "Okay, now pull yourself up! You're so close!"

I move my hands up until they've made my body stretched out. My feet can barely hang on. Gripping the tree tightly, I bring my feet up until they're in the same position as before. Aha!

I do this odd hand-over-hand-feet-up sequence until I finally can reach the first branch. I grab it, and use my feet to help me onto it. Finally. I'm in a tree.

There's a very good reason I'm not a tree-hopper.

Hazel laughs at my expression. "Come on, let's climb higher!"

"We're going to hit the ceiling eventually, you know that?"

"Race you to it!"

I sigh, watching her easily climb the branches. It's amazing, really, seeing her leap from limb to limb. She uses her hands to grab and her feet to swing, looking almost as if she's doing gymnastics. Flipping from branch to branch, jumping and leaping so, so high. She looks like she could fly at any moment.

Then Hazel stops, at one of the highest branches. She's very close to the ceiling now. "Hey Max," she calls cheerfully, "come and look!"

I climb much more carefully, not performing nearly as much. A simple climb, not much different from climbing on a pile of rocks. I reach her. She grins at me happily. "Look!"

I follow her gaze. It's an amazing view of the Training Center. I can see all of it… little Twila besting even the teacher at camouflage, Iggy still not getting up the tree, Gazzy and Angel racing around at the evasion station. At the weapons place, Fang throws spears with accuracy. Toria is examining a cluster of knives.

Hazel frowns, looking at Toria. "Wait a second…"

"What's wrong with Toria and knives?" I ask. I see nothing wrong here.

Hazel gave me an incredulous look. "Did you not see what she did with a _boot_! Imagine if she had real weapons!"

"Oh yeah…" I'd forgotten about that... oops…

I can hear Toria yell, "Where's that dude who took my boot?"

I think I see the problem now.

The black-haired girl sees my worry. "Don't worry, you're safe. She can't throw this far… I think…"

The attendant that took her boot emerges from a doorway, looking confused. From this angle, I can see the side of Toria's face. She's grinning again.

Her mouth moves as she says something. I can't hear it. The attendant, looking exasperated, moved back inside the door.

"I'm confused," I state, settling into a more comfortable position on the branch. I like the ground better, but trees aren't half-bad, I admit.

"So am I…" Hazel trails off as the attendant comes back with nothing other than Toria's boot. Toria grins wider than ever, and, moving so fast she's a blur, throws one of the knives at the attendant.

The knife pierces the boot, ripping it out of his hand and pinning it to the door. Toria stalks forward, pushing past the cowering attendant to take the straight knife out of the wall. She holds the boot close to her, smirking at the terrified man. She says something. I think it's something along the lines of, "My boot. My precious."

Toria turns, flouncing away, holding the boot and knife as she approaches the knives again. By now, every eye in the Center is on her. Ignoring the looks, Toria pulls a selection of knives out. Taking careful aim at the target, she throws a tiny straight knife, a lengthy one, one with a jagged blade. But the one she seems to cherish the most is unique.

"Wow," I murmur, watching Toria, "That's interesting."

The blade she's selected is very curved, like a cat's claw or a hawk's talon. The blade makes a 180 degree turn, the point aiming back towards the direction of the thrower.

"How do you throw that properly?" I wonder.

Hazel shakes her head. "I have no idea, but I think I've seen it used in a couple of earlier Hunger Games."

I think hard, remembering. Yes, I've seen this weapon before. Only Sixers seem to use it. Sometimes, it was thrown properly, a spinning silver O before it buries itself in its target. Many times, though, it hit wrong, the duller outside hitting the intended victim instead of the sharp tip.

Toria seems comfortable with it. She tosses it a couple of times, catching it by the handle easily. Rearing back like a baseball pitcher, she throws her knife. It imbeds itself perfectly in the target.

"That's impressive," Hazel notes.

I watch Toria with cautious eyes as she retrieves her knife. Tributes turn away from the sight to focus on their own lessons. "Wow," I breathe. Toria grins, stroking the blade gently with a finger.

Turning to me, Hazel smiles. "Well, now that she's shown off, I'm going to show you how to jump from tree to tree."

What.

* * *

"Max! MAX! GET UP!"

"Wha?" I sit up in bed, mightily confused. What the hell is going on- smoke. I smell smoke.

Angel is desperately pulling on my arm. "Get up! We need to leave here now!"

My room is clouded with smoke. I inhale a lungful, coughing. Angel tugs me forward. "We need to get out of here!"

I follow her out the door. Downstairs, a fire leaps from the kitchen, spewing smoke and burning up the place where we stay. "Oh no…" I murmur in horror.

Angel yanks on my arm, nearly pulling it out of my socket. "We need to go! We need to leave!"

"You think?" I cough, dashing after her. Thudding down the stairs, we come to the big double doors. "Where's everyone else?" I yell, pulling them open.

"We're the last ones, I think," she says, running into the hall. I follow her as quickly as I can.

"That's good," I pant, running after her.

Argh, it's so confusing! So many passages, so many doors, and the walls are made of wood! Not good!

"Angel," I ask, trying not to choke on ash, "do you know where you're going?"

"Nope!"

"Erm…" I think I see a flaw in the plan. The air is starting to clear, at least. We must be outrunning the fire.

Angel skids to a halt suddenly, breathing hard. I'm not having a difficult time, really, but my throat still hurts from my first inhaling of ash. The smaller girl stares at a plastic map, soot catching in her hair. "I know where we are now," she says. Without another word, she takes off, heading towards a door.

I run after her, but when she opens it, flames meet us. "Let's not go that way," she suggests, closing it and running into the center of the hall.

"Now what?" I ask. She seems to be in charge.

Angel throws her arms up, panicking. "I have no idea!" she wails, "That was the only way I saw!"

I take a deep breath, scanning the room. Fire is licking around the doorway, and the air is growing much hotter. I see a set of stairs and get an idea. "This way!" I grab Angel and lead her up the stairs.

Small embers are starting to spark up through the floor in some places. We don't have much time. I shove my way into a random room.

There's a window, like I had hoped. I tug Angel into the room behind me. "Come-" A piece of the ceiling falls down, on fire.

"How'd the fire get up there already?" Angel wonders.

"I have no idea!" I open the window, looking out.

By some sheer dumb luck, there's an enormous pool right underneath us.

"Angel dear, I hope you don't mind flying," I say.

She gives me a weird look. "Why would you say that?"

I point to the water. "Because we're going to make an extremely clichéd though useful escape."

She looks down. Behind us, the fire crackles, growing stronger. I pick up Angel. "Ready?" I ask.

"As much as I'll ever be."

With that said, I jump into thin air.

It's at moments like these when I wonder what it would be like to have wings. Roaring flames at my back, cold water underneath, and the wind surging through it all. What would it be like to ride that wind?

Then, all too quickly, the flight ends. Hitting the water feels like hitting stone, and breath is knocked from my lungs. It's freezing as well. I churn the water wildly with my hands, keeping my eyes screwed shut.

My head breaks the surface. I gasp for air, and I can hear Angel doing the same beside me. "You okay?" I choke out, spitting a mouthful of now-sooty water out.

Angel nods fervently. "I think so…"

"Max! Angel!" Gazzy runs to meet us. He reaches a hand out to help us get out of the pool.

Angel paddles over to him, hugging him when she's out. I swim to the side, shaking myself off. Yuck. I hate water.

Hazel trots up, leading Fang behind her. "You could've jumped to the tree," she points out, "I _told_ you so. I _told_ you it could save your life."

"Yeah, yeah," I push her comments away, looking up. There's a tree that has a branch not too far from the building. It's farther away from it than I would be comfortable jumping, which is why I went to the water. "Swimming is helpful too."

Hazel wrinkles her nose. "I hate water. I can't swim. It's easier to fly and jump that swim. I'm not a fish. But I love fish!" she exclaims, getting off-topic.

Neither she nor Fang look that bad. A few smudges of soot are on both of them, and their shiny black hair is not so shiny anymore. Past them, I can see the rest of the tributes. Nudge is nursing a long burn on her arm, though it doesn't look too bad, and Iggy is ruffling cinders from his hair. Toria, however, has decided to smear ash under both of her eyes, giving herself an even fiercer appearance.

Someone who looks like a Gamemaker walks over. "No one was hurt," he informs us, "But there will be no more training, and no scoring, as the Center is…"

"Damaged?" Angel suggests lightly.

"We'll call it that," the Gamemaker agrees. "Tomorrow, we'll do the interviews. We're very sorry to put you in the arena early, but that's the way it's going to have to be." He turns, starting to walk away. Stopping, he smiles at us. "Well, after interviews with Livy, the arena will be a breeze, I think."

* * *

AN: As you can see, I was far too lazy to do the whole training thing, and I decided to go outside the box. I hope you don't mind.


	7. Liv It Up

AN: Yes, the misspelling of the chapter title was intentional. All will be made clear soon, young grasshopper...

* * *

I am about to face supposedly the biggest terror on the face of the planet. My sides will split. I will be humiliated. The world will love it.

"Max, hold still," a member of my prep team chides me, adjusting my dress, "The sooner you do so, the sooner you can go out there."

"Out there" refers to the stage from which Livy Booth will host interviews of the tributes. The only difference from previous years was that her boyfriend, Crim Vendicio, was going to be hosting these interviews alongside her.

I've seen Crim before, and, honestly, I have no idea how he and Livy could stand each other. While she's a hyper, cheerful little thing, he's moody and grumpy most of the time.

…Oh, gosh, I sound like I'm actually interested in celebrities… what can I say, those two are hilarious together.

"Okay, Maximum," another member of my prep team says, "You're good to go! Good luck!" She gives me a thumbs up cheerfully.

"I'll need it," I mutter under my breath, heading towards the backstage area. The show's not yet started, and won't for a few more minutes. A few other tributes mill around, unsure of what to do.

Nudge spots me first. She's all glamoured up and apparently loving every minute of it. Her long black hair waves out behind her, held back from her face by her shell hair piece. "Hi Max," she greets me happily, "Your outfit is amazing! I love mine too! Isn't it so so soooo pretty?"

"Shiny, too," I comment. The silver dress hugs her curves before loosening into ruffles at about mid-thigh, making her look older than fourteen. Her stylist did a good job.

I'm not sure what to think of my own dress. I protested about even getting one, but the prep team said I could wear it or go naked. I chose the dress.

Admittedly, it isn't THAT bad. It doesn't restrict my movement too much, at least. It's patterned almost like hawk feathers, I guess you can say, which matches my token (wearing it- turns out all the tokens were saved from the fire. We all wore ours to bed, oddly enough, on that night).

I see Hazel walk in, Riley by her side. They both are wearing dark colors, green in Riley's case, blue in Hazel's. Her token, the black half of the yin/yang symbol, dangles from her neck.

She looks around nervously, almost like she's sensing something. Little Twila, dressed in a floaty-looking white gown, does the same.

Right on cue, Toria strolls in. A long, close-fitting black shirt and green gloves clothe her, with a pair of night-colored leggings underneath.

…Okay, how did I get stuck with the dress and she gets the closest thing to pants? That's unfair…

Eventually, all the tributes arrive, in various states of anxiety and irritation at being forced to dress up. From behind the curtain, we can hear the crowd grow louder. It's getting close to show time…

Livy bounds through a door, purple hair flying. She seemed to be wearing almost… a schoolgirl uniform? Like the ones from old animes, the ones with the really short skirts and high socks.

With a pale yellow jacket and navy miniskirt, Livy looked ready to tackle the world. Oddly enough, a necklace with a chocolate-chip cookie pendant on it hung from her neck. "Hey guys!" she calls, cheerfully waving.

From beside me, I can hear Leah mutter, "We have to get all dressed up, but she gets to wear that? Unfair."

Behind Livy, a man follows her. He looks about her age, but a look more serious. This must be Crim… He's monochrome. His hair's dyed dark red, about the color of red wine. His eyes have been altered to an even deeper shade of red. It doesn't look demonic or scary, just a little strange.

Even his suit is red. Dark red, almost black, except for the tie, which is… almost a pink. Light red, I guess. Is Crim's entire closet red?

Heck, I've even heard his name is based off the color crimson.

Weirdo.

Livy gets our attention. "Okay guys, me and Crim are going to go out and introduce you to the crowd! That guy over there," she says, pointing to an attendant, "will tell you when it's your turn to come on stage. Leah, you'll be the first to be interviewed!"

With that said, she links her arm with Crim's and skips towards the front of the stage. Crim gives us a last nod and a, "Good luck," before being dragged away.

There's a screen showing the camera's footage behind us. I turn to look at it, amused by what I see.

Livy, a natural on stage, waves to the crowd, smiling like a maniac. Beside her, Crim waves as well, smiling slightly. "Helloooooo people of the nation! As you can see, it's the most, wonderful time, of, the year!~" she sings, "You all know what time it is, right? Time for interviews! We have many special guests tonight, not the least of which being our tributes. And of course, we cannot forget Crim here!" She kisses his cheek, making him blush.

How weird. When he blushes, he looks more pink instead of red.

"Hey," he manages to say before Livy steals the show again.

"Let's meet our tributes, shalln't we?" she asks. The attendant doesn't yet motion us forward, though another one hustles us into a line. Girl boy, girl boy, from District One to Eight.

"Livy, is 'shalln't' even a word?" Crim questions her.

She breaks away from him, mock-offended. "Of _course_ it is, Crim!"

"I've never heard it before…"

"Well, it's a word now."

"Why?"

"Because I said so."

Crim is starting to look irritated. "That's not a good reason-"

He's interrupted by the fact that we are motioned forward. As we get onto the stage, I'm dazzled by the bright lights and the sheer size of the crowd. Leah is following an unseen set of directions, settling down on a huge couch that stretches across the stage. In front of it, closer to the crowd, are three chairs. Two face the third, and Livy and Crim head there now.

Livy sits in the chair closer to the crowd, Crim next to her. I've just sat down on the couch when Livy calls Leah over. "Oh, Leah, dear, you're up!"

She looks very nervous as she shuffles her way over. Leah sits very cautiously in the chair, as if expecting that it'll suddenly jump up and bite her or something.

Livy giggles at her expression. The audience goes quiet with anticipation. "Okay, let's talk," she says. This seems to be her catch phrase for the interviews.

Nodding, Leah replies, "…okay…."

Livy leans forward, about to ask a sincere, serious question. I think. "How many times have you been bitten by one of those raver wolves? The, ah, volcano wolves, the ones with the bright colors on black."

"Erm… I've never been bitten," Leah says, a little confused. We all are.

Crim turns to Livy. "What relevance does this have to the Hunger Games?"

She shrugs. "It doesn't have any."

"Then…"

"…why do I ask?" Livy finishes his sentence, "'Cause I can."

… Okay then.

Crim sighs. "We're supposed to ask serious questions, Liv. Like…" He turns to Leah. "What's your strategy in these Games going to be?"

The girl looks a bit relieved to have a more expected question posed. With Livy, you can never tell what she's going to throw at you next. "I'm hoping for a dry environment. If I'm lucky, a volcanic field like at home. I'm going to try and mostly hide and survive, though." She looks down sheepishly. "I'm not very skilled, but… I know how to live."

The red-haired man nods, but Livy shakes her head. "No, no, no, no, no, we're not going to find out about them like that. We need to ask them more important things, like," here Livy stands up and strikes a pose, "what her favorite cookie is!"

Poor, poor Leah has no idea what to do. "Um…" she trails off.

Livy gets closer to her, hissing, "Best… choice…."

"Chocolate-chip?"

Livy leaps up suddenly, spinning around and doing a little dance. "Bingo! Ten brownie points to Leah over here!"

Crim is looking exasperated. "What can those points be used for, anyway?"

"I dunno," Livy shrugs, swinging her arms.

"To buy brownies?" Leah suggests.

Shaking her head, Livy suggests, "Nah, too normal. How about… jellybeans!"

Both Leah's brown eyes and Crim's red ones stare at her disbelievingly. "Jelly beans?" Crim asks, "Why?"

"Why not?" Leah helps Livy.

"There's the enthusiasm I want!" Livy crows, high-fiving Leah, who finally breaks into a smile.

However irritating and overwhelming Livy can be, she can usually bring out the best in tributes, whether they be a hulking stoic, or a tiny, terrified kid.

Of course, every once in a while you get a poor tribute that's just terrified and confused by her, but we generally ignore those.

All the while, Crim just rubs the bridge between his eyebrows like he has a headache. Once the three-minute buzzer rings and a flushed, smiling Leah goes back to her seat, Livy confronts him. "Aw, come on, Crim! You can't be tired already!"

Crim sighs. Livy rolls her eyes and whacks him upside the head, muttering, "Stick in the mud."

"I'm a stick?"

"Yes, yes you are. Brandle, we wish to see your presence!" Livy says.

His eyes widen in surprise. Did he really expect that Livy of all people would spare him? "Me?" he asks.

"No, your mom," Livy deadpans, a completely serious expression on her face.

"Really?"

Crim shoves Livy lightly. "Leave him be, Liv."

"First time I've heard someone actually say that," she says, getting a wondering expression on her face. Then she fixates her bright blue eyes on Brandle again. "Yes, you, come up up up! The clock's already a-started!"

Brandle seems to be worried for her sanity. I've seen Livy on TV before, hosting the Games alongside her mom ever since she was… what, eight? Seven? Even then, she was a perky little thing, always working her friendly magic and acting slightly insane (the last one has not changed for a minute).

When she's right in front of me, it's very different. Now, she could launch herself at me, swinging a plywood board or something to take me out. No one has any idea of what Livy will do next.

"Okay, boy, let's talk," she starts, stretching in her seat. "You have a funny name."

That's a good way to start… "Er, thanks?" Brandle says. It comes out almost as a question.

"It wasn't a compliment," Livy says, genuinely interested in the name, "Where did you get it from? Is your middle name as weird as your first?"

"My middle name's Edward-"

Livy flails her hands excitedly. "Like that vampire! The one that sparkled! Remember that guy, from one of the documents that was found from before the big ginormous disaster?"

Her boyfriend is obviously fighting back a laugh. "Yes, I remember that- I read it all, too."

Livy blinks in surprise. "You did?"

He nods. "Where else do you get lines like, 'I'm a killer, Bella!' and then you sparkle?"

She stares at him. "You read it _all_?"

"Yeah…"

"All four of the books in the series they found?"

"Yeah," Crim nods, looking a little worried now.

Gaping at him for a moment, Livy exclaims, "But those are meant for girls! And if you're enough of a girl that you read all of them, but are still a male…" she turns away from Crim, thinking. She spins back around. "You're a sexy man-beast, Crim!"

He blushes a deep shade of pink. Livy hugs him tightly, "But I love you all the same."

A chorus of "awww"s comes from the audience. Livy focuses her attention on Brandle again. "Back to the matter at hand. Where did you get such a weird name?"

"My parents thought it up. I have no idea how, but they told me they had played with the word 'bramble' until they got a name right." He suddenly looks confused. "Wait, you have a weird name too, and so does Crim. Why are you accusing me of having a weird one?"

Livy huffs. "My full name is O-liv-EE-a," she pronounces each syllable, putting emphasis on each one. "Olivia. That's normal."

"Livy fits you a lot better," Brandle remarks.

Crim nods. "Yeah, it does. My full name is Crimson Vendicio."

Brandle chuckles. "Crimson?"

"I had reddish hair when I was a baby. Don't laugh."

"Too late," Livy giggles, watching the laughing Brandle.

"You have a picture of him then?" Brandle asks?

Livy nods excitedly, getting out a phone. "Yeah!"

Crim looks over her shoulder at the screen when she finds it. Frowning, he asks, "Where'd you get that?"

"Annie!" Livy practically sings.

"I am going to kill my little sister when I see her next," he mutters.

Tossing her head, Livy says, "No you won't! You love her too much. Speaking of siblings, you got any, Brandle?"

"No-" is all he has time to say before the buzzer goes off.

Livy stands up, facing a nearby camera. "Well, that's all for now, we'll talk to more tributes after the break. See ya then, and don't go anywhere!" she tells the camera. Holding out the phone, she adds, "And here's baby Crim!"

The camera zooms farther away, and when a person on the side gives her a thumbs-up, she trots over to us tributes. Brandle takes his original seat again. "Now that it's a commercial break, I can show you Crim," she giggles, excited.

The picture she shows us is… adorable, to say the least. Baby Crim is chubby, with rosy cheeks and warm brown eyes. His hair is tufty and sticks out. It's also very thick. And it's a bright shade of reddish brown.

"Aww," Ty says from beside me. I can't blame him for doing so.

Livy grins. It's not hostile like Toria's baring of teeth. "I know, right? I still think this version is adorable as well."

A slight movement at the edge of the stage gets my attention. Livy spots me gaze and follows it. "Mom!" she cries, running towards the woman there.

Holly Booth. One of the most famous people in the nation other than her daughter. She doesn't have any alterations, unlike Livy. Her long, bluish-black hair is straight and shiny. Her green eyes are bright but natural.

People say that Livy looks a lot more like her dad. I've never seen him, he died while Holly was pregnant with Livy. But her (originally) light brown hair and naturally blue eyes had to come from somewhere.

"Hi, Olivia," Holly calls her by her full name, much to Livy's visible irritation.

"Mom, what're you doing here?" Livy wonders, breaking out of her hug.

Holly smiles. "I wanted to see how you're doing in person, of course. TV just doesn't capture you fully."

"You got that right," I mutter.

A snap from a TV person catches her attention. "It's time to go back on air," he says, "Hurry up, back in position."

Livy hurries back towards her chair, towards the waiting Crim. She looks towards the audience at the perfect time, breaking into a smile. "Welcome back!" she greets the camera, "I think it's time we meet the first of District Two's tributes. Ladies and gents, give a hand for Angel! I don't mean that literally, of course," she adds as the blond girl trots up.

"Hiya," she says cheerfully, waving to the audience.

"Ooh, good, we got a cheerful one, Crim," Livy nudges Crim excitedly. "So, girl, let's talk. You look absolutely adorable in that outfit, by the way."

Angel giggles. "Thank you."

Crim looks offended. "I thought you said I was the cute one."

Rolling her eyes, Livy plants a kiss on Crim's cheek, setting off the blush again. "Of course you're cute, silly."

Cue awws from the audience.

Livy turns back to Angel. "So, you got in here. What's your plan for getting out?"

Crim interrupts any response from the girl with, "Whoa, you're actually doing a serious question?"

Livy tosses her head. "It's part of the contract, _du-uh_."

"Erm, can I speak now?" Angel asks politely.

"Fire at will. Sorry, Will," Livy says to a guy in the audience she apparently knows.

Chitters of laughter come from the direction of "Will".

Angel sighs, amused. "I'm hoping for a good, forested arena. Lots of cover. A foggy mountain might do as well. Then, I'll get my hands on a dirk or a machete and go from there."

"You teaming up with your brother?" asks Crim.

Angel glances back at Gazzy, who nods. With a smile, she says, "I guess so, then!"

Crim gives her a gentle smile. "That's good."

"So you talked about a machete. Any good with it?" Livy asks, raising an eyebrow.

Angel shrugs, making her curls bounce. "I guess so. I've heard I have a lot of talent with it, though I've really only practiced on trees and plants, clearing a forest path."

"You have any other talents?" Livy questions.

Giving her a weird look, Angel says, "Um… nothing really consequential."

"Aw, come on, there's gotta be something else you're good at!"

"Erm," Angel struggles for a good answer, "I'm apparently really good at hula-hooping."

Livy perks up. I can hear Crim muttering, "Oh no… this isn't going to be good…"

"I love hula-hooping! We should have a contest to see who's better."

What.

"Um," Angel tries to protest.

Livy waves the complaint away. "Come on, it'll be fun! Ooh, look, someone found a pair of hoops!"

I have to wonder why hula hoops are kept backstage as an attendant brings them out. One's purple, one's gold. Livy gets her classic purple, whereas Angel gets the gold hoop.

"Ready? Set? Go!" Livy cheers, starting to hula-hoop.

Angel does the same, easily keeping up.

"You're pretty good, girl," Livy comments, swaying her hips and swinging the purple hoop around them. Crim watches her, mesmerized.

"Thank you, Liv," Angel huffs out.

"Okay, we need to mix this up," Livy decides. "Turn in a circle while hooping, 'kay?"

Giggling, Angel does so, following Livy's lead. "Now jump!" Livy commands.

"Is that even possible?" Angel asks.

"Yeah! Just keep moving your body." Livy demonstrates, leaping up but circling her hips even in the air.

Nodding, Angel says, "Okay, I'll try that." She jumps, keeping the hoop moving as she lands.

"Excellent work Ange-" Livy gets cut off by the buzzer. She stops, glaring at the source angrily. "Shut up!" Her hoop clatters to the floor.

Angel gives it a glance, still hula-hooping. "I win."

Livy takes Angel's hand, throwing it in the air like a victor. "Ladies and gentlemen, the hula-hooping champion, Angel!"

The cheers continue as Angel switches place with her brother, high-fiving him as he passes.

"So, let's talk," Livy starts.

Crim decides to take after Livy, asking (albeit a bit sarcastically), "How do you feel with your sister besting you in hula-hooping?"

Gazzy raises an eyebrow. "Who said she always bests me at that?"

"Ohoho," Livy chuckles, sounding almost like Toria, "So, do you have other talents as well as an unnatural skill at hula-hooping?"

"Yeah." Gazzy grins here. "I like to blow stuff up."

Crim smiles as well. "A pyromaniac?"

"If you see me running away from something, try to keep up," Gazzy says, shrugging. It sounds like a catchphrase.

"I love fire," Crim says. The pair settle into technobabble about explosives and weapons, Livy looking bored until the buzzer goes off.

"Thank God that's done," she says, "I didn't understand but two words of that."

"You didn't have to listen…" Crim protests.

Livy rolls her eyes. "Oh well. MAX! I need someone to entertain me without techno-fire-whatsits!"

Oh crap.

My turn.

Showtime.

"Okay, Ms. Awesome McCoolname," Livy starts, "Let's talk. Where'd you get that necklace from, by the way? I love it!"

"Uh, a somewhat friend gave it to me," I manage to say, sitting in a chair.

"A somewhat friend?" Livy is perplexed.

"Yeah. We weren't on the best of terms, but she loves my little half-brother."

"Aww," Livy says, "That's adorable. She likes hawks?"

I shake my head. "Nah, not really. Trix reminds me more of a wolf, an Alpha."

I can see that Livy's faintly interested, though there's a slight bit of boredom in her eyes. Uh-oh.

"Mmhmm… Then why the hawk?" she asks.

"I dunno. I think she likes predators in general, although she's occasionally wondered what it'd be like to fly," I say, shrugging. If I get out of this alive, Trix will end up killing me. I doubt she's enjoying me spilling that slightly childish fact.

"You like to fly?" she questions me, "I heard you flew out of the burning tribute house last night, into a pool."

"It was less flying and more desperate leaping," I admit. Livy giggles nonetheless.

Crim talks now. "I bet you wanted wings then."

I nod. "Would've made my life easier, that's for sure."

Livy perks up. "What kind of wings would you get? I'd get purple ones!"

Giving her a weird look, Crim inquires, "Is there even a bird with purple wings, Liv?"

"I have no idea!"

The audience laughs. I smile. "This isn't so bad," I state aloud, "This isn't so hard."

"That's what she said," Livy mutters.

Second one in two days. Yay.

"How has that survived so long?" I ask Livy.

She shrugs. "How did _Twilight_? How have sparklepires survived so long here?"

Crim half-heartedly yells, "Because they're immortal!"

Silence.

Livy gives Crim the funniest look I've seen all day. "Crim…?" she asks cautiously, "Are you okay?"

He realizes what he's done. I have read those stories, and I personally disliked them. Obviously, my opinion is not shared by all… Crim turned bright pink, stuttering, "Uh, well, er-"

"Apparently not," Livy sighs dramatically. "Why must I never pick the normal ones?"

"You aren't normal yourself," I point out.

"Touché."

"SERIOUS QUESTION TIME!" Crim blurts out.

"I think he's lost it," Livy says, watching her boyfriend cautiously.

Crim stares at me, obviously trying to turn the subject away from his embarrassment. "You planning on making any allies in the arena? I know you're getting on well with Fang from Seven."

I shrug. "Probably not," I say, "I don't want to make friends with them and end up having to kill them later, you know? I'll just make it easier on myself by doing this."

"Makes sense," Livy agrees, nodding. The timer goes off, and my turn in the spotlight is over. "Well, Max, we'll see you tomorrow in the arena. For right now, we get to talk to Ty! Ty, come hither!"

He's already up and over there when she says this. "I am hither."

"Come hitherer," Livy shoots back, settling into her chair. "Let's talk."

I sit down on the couch again, glancing over at Angel and Gazzy. "That was stressful," I say quietly.

Gazzy nods in agreement. I'm suddenly aware of how tired I am. The new stress of the interviews adds to my exhaustion of very little sleep last night. Gazzy takes note of this. "Take a quick nap," he tells me, "I'll wake you if there's something particularly exciting."

I am so, so relieved to hear those words. I lean my head back, dozing through Ty's and Raven's interviews and a commercial break. When Iggy's rolls around, though, I make sure I'm fully aware for this one.

"Oh, my dear, delicious Iggy!~" Livy sings, beckoning the tall kid forward.

Poor, poor Crim. "What?" he asks, sounding a bit horrified.

Livy scoots over in her seat until she's pressed right up against Crim. "Don't be jealous, Crim," she reassures him, turning on the charm to reassure the redhead. "I still like you better." She leans her head on his shoulder, which seems to calm him down a bit. "So, Iggy, are you naturally this pale?"

Iggy relaxes in his chair. "Yeah, and I'm naturally this hot as well."

Hoots of laughter sound from the audience, and I join them. This interview's going to be fun.

Livy gives him a doubtful look. "Maybe, but Crim's a sexy man-beast, remember? Is there any way to beat that?"

Iggy grins, raising an eyebrow. "What if I said I've read all of those books as well?"

Ooh, duel time.

Crim just looks baffled when Livy retorts, "Then I say you are a sexy man-beast as well."

"Then who be sexier?" Iggy asks. I know he's just playing, but Crim doesn't see it that way.

"Crim of course!" Livy exclaims, wrapping her arms around her chosen one and giving a defensive glare to Iggy.

Iggy's face fell. "But I thought you liked me."

"I still like you! It's just complicated. You're vanilla, and I like vanilla, but Crim reminds me of cherries, even though I don't like cherries, but I do like strawberries, but I like strawberries better than vanilla."

…I believe the proper expression here would be, "Lolwut?"

"I'm confused," Crim says.

Livy bats his nose. "Hush. I'm trying to win something here."

Ignoring his slightly miffed expression, she continues. "Either way, I like you, Iggy, 'cause you remind me of a vanilla ice cream cone. But I like Crim 'cause he's mine."

Iggy asks, "So all of this," he motions to all of him, "doesn't appeal to you?"

"Nope!"

"I feel offended."

"You should," Livy says, snuggling close to Crim. This sets off the blush (again). "How do you not melt?"

"Huh?"

"Well, you're like a vanilla ice cream cone. How do you not melt in the desert?" Livy says this like it's an obvious question.

"Er…" The buzzer goes off.

Livy looks disappointed. "Aw, we were having such fun. Ah well, and that was the ice cream of the desert. Let's have a hand for him, again not literally."

After the applause dies down, Nudge is called up. When I realize this, I know I will have a headache by the time this interview is over.

"Well, hello there," Crim greets her this time. Nudge flashes him a huge smile before settling down.

"You have a weird name, too," Livy comments.

"I know, right? At least it's nice and unique, I mean, I wouldn't want a normal name like Leah (no offense) or Sarah, but Nudge is a little _too_ unique, if you know what I mean. You, Livy, have a nice combination of normal and unusual in Livy, seeing as it's derived from Olivia."

That is all said in one breath.

"Well, _I_ think it's a very pretty name," Livy decides. "And that's what's important, right? Make sure you yourself are happy before you please anyone else. And, if all else fails, just keep smiling." Livy punctuates this with a happy grin.

Nudge nods. "I agree completely. If optimism is what it takes to win this year, I'll bring it."

The redhead gives her a gentle smile. I think the overwhelming optimism reminds him of Livy. "You'll need more than that to win, though you'll get sponsors with optimism. You got any other skills?"

Nudge bites her lip, thinking. "Well, I like hula-hooping too, but Livy's better than me, I can see that, not to mention Angel. I love swimming!" She brightens up as she gets an idea. "You don't happen to have a pool backstage, do you?"

"That's a good idea!" Livy twists around so that she's looking at the stage crew. "Put one in later, okay?"

"Wait, does that mean you don't?" Nudge looks a bit relieved. I can't say I blame her, having seen Livy's energy and enthusiasm for competitions.

Livy ruffles Nudge's hair, messing it up a bit. "Of course not, silly duck," she chuckles.

"That's a new one," Crim mutters.

"Speaking of duck, you ever eaten one?" Nudge questions, "They're really good, especially with orange and lemon sauce."

"You like citrus fruits too? Straight lemon juice?" Livy squeals delightedly. When Nudge nods, Livy pokes Crim's chest. "See, told you I wasn't the only one who likes super-duper sour stuff!"

He looks amused. "Yeah, well, who else drinks it straight?"

Nudge raises a hand. "When it's in season, I'll go out and sniff the lemon tree my family has. Then I'll pick a lemon and wash it in the purest water I can find, then slice it and suck on one of the pieces."

"That's so good tasting!" Livy agrees.

"You two are so weird," Crim mutters as the two girls settle into a happy babble about fruit until the buzzer goes off.

Nudge swaps places with Kevin from her District, waving to the audience.

I pretty much ignore Kevin's interview- he's very quiet and doesn't talk much. But Toria's- that's what I look forward to.

When it's her turn, she steps forward, walking on her toes confidently. Like Hazel, she walks only on the very tips of her toes.

"Hello there!" Livy says, confident that she can actually make this tribute talk.

"Hey," Toria replies, grinning. She gives a nod of acknowledgement to Crim.

"So, what's your- Wait a minute, you walk on your toes?" Livy cuts herself off in the middle of a sentence.

Looking confused, Toria says, "Yeah…"

"That's so cool!" Livy leaps up. "Why do you do that?"

"I can turn faster. I'm ready to run and leap and win," Toria explains.

Livy goes to one side of the stage, rising on her toes. She nearly falls over when she tries to run. "How do you do this all the time?" she wonders.

Toria vaults over the back of her chair, landing on her toes. She's showing off, I realize. She prances her way over to Livy, grinning. "You're doing it wrong," Toria corrects Livy. "You gotta keep your weight centered. And dang, girl, you have some seriously bad balance."

"Is that an insult?" Livy spins around and mock-glares at Toria.

"No, but even the littlest of kids from my District can stay up on their toes better than you."

"Are you picking a fight?" Livy goes on, curling her hands into fists.

"What?" Toria looks very puzzled now. Her grin stays on her face, though. "No… If you want to, I suppose we can, but-"

"Is that a threat?" Livy asks shrilly.

"NO! But it will be unless you stop asking that!" Toria snaps.

Silence.

Livy slings an arm around Toria, smiling. "I like this girl," she says.

Crim literally does a facepalm. "You're hopeless," he says.

"That's why you all love me!~" Livy sings, sweeping a hand around at the audience. Turning her attention back to Toria, she says, "So, I heard-"

"That I like Mudkips? Yes, I do like them," Toria interrupts, referencing the ancient Pokémon that had been found. The Internet had survived a long, long time.

Livy sighs, exasperated. Plopping back down in her chair, she continues what she was saying. "No, I heard that your token looks cool. Can I see it?"

Toria's grin falters for a split second before she takes something off her wrist. "Okay…"

It's a wristband, one of those you wear when you exercise. Off-white, it has an odd thing sewed on it. It looks like a pair of claws touching at the tips, with a golden star of either side. Wait, the claws… they reminded me of that curved knife she was throwing in training…

Livy examines this with interest. "Ooh, that's cool," she comments, "Is this a family symbol?"

Toria's eyes widen in surprise. "Bingo," she answers, grinning.

Livy may seem ditzy and not the smartest, but she obviously has an incredible natural sense of intuitiveness…

Livy's blue eyes sparkle with delight when she gets the answer right. "Awesome!" she exclaims, "Do these curved thingies have a special meaning?"

"They're claws," Toria explains.

"Of a cat?"

"No, a… bird." I wonder why Toria has to pause slightly when saying it was a bird.

Livy nods enthusiastically. "Oh, a raptor!"

Aaah, a bird of prey. That makes sense.

Toria gives a wry grin. "Yup, it's that exactly."

Livy bounces happily. "I love being so smart!" Then she frowns, looking at the wristband. Or, rather, feeling the underside of it. "Is that… plastic I feel?" she asks, half to herself.

"Erm…"

Livy flips the band inside out. I can see what it is on the inside from here. A picture.

"Is this you?" Livy asks.

"Yeah," Toria replies.

"Those your sisters?" Crim finally speaks to Toria.

"Yeah. Bry and Rosie." Ah, so finally I can see the infamous sisters.

Livy shows the picture to a camera. "That's a pretty neat way to take their pictures with you," she says.

I crane my neck to get a better look. Three girls lean on each other, smiling. The one in the middle is Toria, grinning like a maniac (nothing unusual). Her orangey hair matches that of the girl on the right. This person's, however, is longer and neater. She looks a little older than Toria, with brown eyes instead of hazel. Her face is longer and more pointed, and her grin is more friendly.

The other of the two new people is a lot younger than Toria. She's tiny, with the same hazel eyes as her sister. Her hair is a dark brown, with lighter and darker streaks through it. Low cheekbones and a pointed chin mark her a lot like Toria. Her long bangs frame her face, and I have a feeling that this little girl does not smile often.

"The younger one's Rosie," Toria explains, "She's nine. Bry is a year older than me."

"Epic," Livy breathes. That irritating buzzer goes off. "Well, it was nice talking to you, Toria," she says, giving the token back to the girl. "Aley, darling, you're up next!"

I don't pay much attention to his or Twila's interviews, really. Nothing all that exciting happens. But it's when Livy calls up Fang that things get… interesting.

"So, we have another weird name," Livy now speaks this statement like it's the norm. Fang nods.

"Why'd they name you that?"

"I wasn't a girl. I wasn't going to be called Ella."

Livy sighs dramatically, rolling her eyes. "Another stoic, eh?" Fang doesn't respond. "Do you have a word limit for the night or something?"

Fang shrugs.

Crim warns, "Watch out, she bites."

Livy bites Crim's ear for that. Crim winces, blushing slightly and saying, "Told you. I'd talk."

Staring him down, Livy half-growls, "I have ways of making you talk… Let's start with something simple. Say hello to the audience."

"Hello to the audience," Fang deadpans.

"Great," Livy moans slightly, "We got the one with the smart mouth this time."

Fang does a little half-smirk at this.

"So, Fang, tell us a little about yourself," Crim tries to save the conversation, sensing insanity on the brink of happening.

"Must I?"

Livy interrupts whatever Crim is going to say, shouting, "Seeeeeee? He always uses the fewest words he can! He doesn't ramble like Nudge does, he doesn't hula-hoop like Angel can!"

"I can play a mean harmonica," Fang offers.

Livy gasps overdramatically. "HE SPEAKS!"

Crim, deciding to get in on the fun, shakes Livy, as if in a panic. "This is an extremely rare event, Liv!"

"It's a sign of the apocalypse!" she shoots back.

"We're gonna diiiiiieeee!" they simultaneously yell. Crim is trying very hard not to laugh, I can tell.

I giggle at this. The pair of them has been getting more and more ridiculous as the evening goes on.

Livy spins around, pointing a finger at Fang. "You there!" she booms, "Who hath chosen thou for sending us this sign of doomsday?"

He shrugs.

Laughter from the audience is loud, and next to me, Ty is shaking from laughing. Gazzy has been leaning on Angel, chuckling hard, for a while now.

Fang is much, much stronger than I realized.

Livy gets very close to Fang, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him while hissing into his face, "How did you get such power? _TELL ME_! I wish to command such powers such as yours, to see the future!" Livy throws her hands in the air, yelling to the heavens. "Show me your ways, O Great One!"

Fang's façade slips momentarily as he laughs. Livy absolutely spazzes at this. "I did it! I broke him! Crim, this is a momentous occasion indeed. Now, I need my hoop of power when he is at his weakest to extract his magicalness!"

Someone tosses her the gold hula hoop. She throws it over Fang, saying loudly, "By the power of sparklepires and jellybeans, I command thy power to me!"

She seems disappointed when nothing spectacular happens, other than me trying not to hyperventilate from laughter. I have to wonder what she was expecting. No, wait, I don't want to know.

The rest of the interviews pass in one huge, hilarious blur. I'm struggling for breath when Livy and Crim dismiss a humiliated Riley back to his seat.

"All right, people," Livy says, "You've had a chance to see all of the tributes! Now, it's _your_ turn to decide who you want to sponsor. You've seen their real personalities and you've seen some of their talents- now, you have to decide who you want to help stay alive."

Crim takes over here, "Remember, it doesn't take much to save a life."

Livy nods. "Right. Let's review who our tributes are again, shall we?" She moves over to Leah, talking as she walks down the arc. "We have the jellybean-loving Leah, weird name Brandle, hula-hooping champion Angel, pyrogenius Gazzy, the amazing flying Max, loverwolf Ty, charming Raven, delicious and vanilla Iggy, the Nudge Channel, silent Kevin, ever-insulting Toria, Big Aley, Mew Mew Hazel, and then Riley."

"It's up to you to decide who you want to win," Crim adds.

"So pick well, people," Livy exclaims, grabbing Crim. The pair simultaneously yell, "Good night, people of the nation!"

"Cut!" yells a person from offstage, "Great work, guys!"

* * *

AN: I could've made that shorter, but writing Livy and Crim was far too much fun. I hope you don't mind.

I finish writing this on the night of a lunar eclipse. I cannot wait to see the blood-colored moon.

Oh yeah, and if you want to see a visual reference of Toria, she's on my DeviantArt. The link is on my homepage, as always.


	8. Off to Launch

"Max." A soft hand wakes me from my fitful sleep. I look up, slightly startled, only to find the face of one of my prep team. The calmest member, I think. "It's time," she says.

Time to go. Time to go into the arena. Time for me to show that I can stay alive.

The member of my prep team leads me out of the room, into a hovercraft with blacked-out windows. Lucky Capitol people. We don't have many hovercrafts back home, and those are mostly used for emergencies.

It's a simple relationship. The Capitol provides the Districts with technology and, more importantly, medical care and medicine. In exchange, we give a small portion of what we gather/hunt/make and two children each year. However sad that might be, we accept this and don't complain. The Capitol does a very good job with healing, and we would be lost without it. Despite me being one of them this year, two kids is a small price to pay for vaccines that prevent a disease that could wipe out a whole District in my opinion.

The member of my prep team, Viola, I think her name is, tells me to undress so I can get in the outfit for the arena. I do so, feeling a little self-conscious just standing there in my underwear as she looks around for the clothes.

Finding them, she hands an odd outfit to me. A button-down, long-sleeved khaki shirt. a pair of long khaki shorts. Hiking boots and thick socks. A leather belt, which I put in the belt loops of my shorts. And finally, a dark green head band, similar to the exercise ones.

Viola puts the headband on me, pushing some of my hair over it. "There," she says, stepping back. "That's good now."

A doctor in a white coat steps in. I tense up. I've always hated doctors. "Max," he says, "come here. I need to put this tracker in you."

I look away and wince when he injects it into my upper right arm.

"Do you need something to eat?" Viola asks, "It'll be a bit before we arrive."

"Um, just a sandwich," I reply, not paying much attention. I'm too worried. What will the arena be like? Why have they dressed me like this? I could be going anywhere!

The sandwich is brought with a glass of water. I scarf it down, knowing that it'll help fuel me through the first morning in the arena. I sip my water slowly, savoring the wetness. The arena might be a dry desert for all I know.

I feel the hovercraft starting to descend. I gulp the rest of my water before moving over towards the door. When it opens, Viola takes my hand and leads me away.

We've landed underground. I have no idea where the other tributes are. Viola moves me into small, hastily built room. A glass tube stands in the center of it, leading through the ceiling.

Viola busies herself with perfecting my appearance, straightening little pieces of hair, checking that my hawk feather necklace is secure, checking that my shoes are tightly tied.

I, meanwhile, worry. What's the arena going to be like? Will I be able to get my hands on a spear, the weapon I'm best at? Will there be lots of empty, grassy ground? Or, most pressingly for the moment, will I be able to outrun Toria at the Cornucopia? I know that tree-hoppers are quick little buggers.

At least I'm one of the fastest in my District, and I still have lots of stamina. If I can break away, I can outrun everyone… except maybe the Vulcans and Ty, but other than that…

A voice rings out over the intercom. "Tributes, get in the tubes, please."

A door opens in the glass. I step through it, aware of Viola watching me. I see her say the words, "Good luck," before the floor beneath me shifts and I slowly make my way upwards.

It's a slow climb. I look up and see blue sky, bright blue. A few clouds drift across it. It looks so free…

I inhale a breath of the air. I still can't see the rest of the arena. Shockingly, the air is incredibly rich, filled with oxygen- maybe even more than that of the forests. It's very warm and humid as well.

What on earth have I been tossed in to?

I finally rise above the earth. I get a glimpse of pine trees that seems almost a little off, a little different before Livy's voice booms above me. "Let the two hundred and seventy-third Hunger Games begin!"

* * *

AN: Yeah, yeah, that was really short, but you know what? Next chapter, we get to see the blood of tributes spilled…. Muahahahaha…

Also, on a slightly more important note- that was the last chapter from Max's POV. Now, we'll be in third person, and we'll be following several of the tributes instead of just her. Remember, don't count your chickens before they hatch… that's what my history teacher said when we watched _The Patriot_, ruining it for us.


	9. Here We Go

AN: Let's get this party started!

* * *

The arena is, at first sight, nothing spectacular to see. It's a huge valley. A large grassland is at the center, where the tributes stand for the required sixty seconds on their plates. Over the forest, a ring of mountains proudly guards the border to the valley.

Perhaps grassland is the wrong word. No grass, in fact, exists on this plain. Instead, it is a fern prairie. That isn't the only different foliage in this land. The only trees here are pines. The pines are incredibly big and healthy, fueled by the untainted air and bright sunlight. They don't seem quite right, not the usual species of pines the tributes have seen. Maybe a type from a different place?

Toria stares at the arena attentively. She's already altered her costume- the sleeves have been rolled up to reveal strong forearms. Her hazel eyes flit from the sky to the trees to the golden Cornucopia- incredibly out of place here. Her mouth opens slightly to take in the air as she realizes that, like her home, it's filled with oxygen. Even more so, maybe.

She looks around, locking eyes with her predetermined ally, Hazel. Hazel had shown incredibly talent with a bow during training, making Toria's guess about her being useful correct.

Glancing at the Cornucopia now, Toria spots a few things of interest: a set of tiny, tiny knives, several medium-sized knives, a bow and quiver of arrows, and, most importantly to her, a few of the curved knives that she oh-so-loved. A grin starts to spread across her face as she stares at the other tributes- she must be the fastest one there.

She subtly falls into a running position- on toes, arms out slightly for balance, knees bent, weight shifted slightly forward. The minute must almost be up.

Then, from the woods closest to the tributes, comes a terrifying sound. A roar, a scream from another world. So, so loud. Toria is so surprised, she nearly loses balance. She _never_ loses her balance.

What could it be? The creature that produced such a noise must be incredible! Toria is given no more time to wonder as the gong sounds.

She's off and running as fast as she can. Iggy, who was close to her in the circle of tributes, is on her heels. Ducking down, Toria grabs a backpack and swings it, using the momentum to kick her foot out harder than it already could kick. Success. Her boot connects with his ribs perfectly, driving the breath out of him and causing a horrible snapping sound.

Excellent. Broken ribs. He'll be easy picking for that huge creature. He barely manages to grab a backpack and head away when Toria finds her first curved knife.

"Haze!" she calls to her ally, "We need to hurry! We don't want to be around when that thing comes out!" Toria jerks her head back towards the source of the noise.

The black-haired girl nods. "Agreed!"

The Cornucopia is oddly deserted of fighting. Many of the tributes have fled for the woods opposite the roar. No one wants to be close when that animal comes out.

Toria grabs the all the curved knives she can find, stuffing them in her backpack. Some food, some water, that medical kit will come in handy, ooh, look, a cluster of straight knives.

Beside her, Brandle grabs a long sword and runs as fast as he can away. Twila is scavenging through the outside remains. Ty is scooping supplies into a backpack before he leans down to grab a sword.

A blur named Raven launches herself at him, screeching. Ty spins around as she attaches herself to his back, trying to choke him.

Toria casts a look at Hazel. "Are you ready to go?" she asks.

Hazel opens her mouth to reply, only to be distracted by the fact that Raven's neck is being snapped behind Toria. A cannon announces her death.

"Point for Ty, get your stuff, let's go," Toria orders, leaping off the pile of supplies and hitting the ground running. Hazel beside her. Toria laughs. That was too easy! They'll make it into the trees before the maker of the noise gets out, easily.

Toria eyes a nearby pine tree. Leaping up, she catches hold of a branch with a hand, pulling herself up. Hazel jumps up as well, landing in a crouch like a cat. The backpacks weigh them down, but not badly enough that they can't climb and jump in the trees. Toria still clings to the first curved knife she had. One handed, she begins to climb.

Once the pair are a safe fifty feet off the ground, they stop and turn back towards the Cornucopia. Ty is scrambling for his sword, getting it and slinging his backpack over his shoulder. He's about halfway to the trees when the maker of the roar bursts out from its cover.

"What is that?" Hazel gasps. Toria has no answer, staring at it disbelievingly.

It's immense. About forty feet long and standing fourteen feet high, it almost resembles… a T. rex? But on it's back, there's a ridge, a sail almost.

"Let's call it a sail-rex," Toria suggests. She has no idea what this is, but it's big and bad. And it could eat her. Easily. She makes a mental note to avoid this.

The sail-rex ignores Ty, instead going for the only person remaining at the Cornucopia… little Twila. She screams, a high pitched one of pure fear. Toria looks away. She had liked the little girl more than some of the other tributes.

Ty manages to scramble into the woods, disappearing from view by the time the sail-rex reaches Twila. It's quick. A crunch, and the sail-rex is holding a bloody body in its maw. A cannon goes off. Two dead. Not many, not many at all for the beginning "bloodbath" of the Games. But if the rest of the arena held animals as weird and deadly as the sail-rex, many more would be gone soon.

Hazel's blue eyes widen as the sail-rex sniffs around the Cornucopia. "I hope he doesn't eat it," she says.

"Oh, so it's a boy now?" Toria questions.

"It was a girl before?" Hazel is confused.

Toria exhales, frustrated. She was getting nowhere with this. "Hazel," she says carefully. She can't lose her temper and make too loud of a noise with the sail-rex so close by. "It doesn't matter what gender that thing is. Point is, if it spots us, it could come here and eat us."

"I don't think that thing can climb…"

Toria bares her teeth. "Don't make this arena harder than it has to be. Remember… only one of us can get out."

Hazel starts to back away. Toria tosses her hair, grinning again. "In the meantime, let's find a base, shall we?"

* * *

Leaping is fun. It's like flying, really. Toria leaped from tree to tree, Hazel by her side. Hazel tree-hops _so_ differently from Toria.

It looks like she's showing off. It's almost like gymnastics, the way Hazel leaps off a high branch for a lower one, catching it and swinging herself in a loop to gain momentum before flying off. For an instant, it looks like she'll miss, but she catches it with one hand and loops around again.

Toria would usually laugh at this. But she couldn't enjoy it when there is a horde of _fricking feathered lizards_ running after her.

"Frick," she mutters. She hates not being able to go higher in the trees, instead forced close to the ground and those things. The pair had accidently wandered into a section of woods where the trees were shorter. That wasn't the only problem. Up above, a pair of animals flew. They were big, with bodies alone much bigger than Hazel's and Toria's. Light brown and covered in a slight fuzz, they looked almost like ancient Pterodactyls.

No crest extends from their heads, though. Their beaks are thicker and have teeth. Toria warned Hazel earlier not to climb too high or those things could pick them off.

This is stupid! She can't go higher, she most certainly can't go lower, and the lizard-things are easily keeping up and jumping and snapping at them. "Dammit!" she spits, grabbing a branch and using its momentum to jump to a farther one. The backpacks are weighing both the allies down, slowing them.

A particularly hyper one of these feathered lizards jumps up. Toria, already swinging on a branch, kicks its jaw in an attempt to fend it off. "Screw this!" she shouts, startling Hazel. The black haired girl stops, a few branches above Toria. "We're going to have to fight our way out of this," Toria growls. A grin starts to spread across her face as she reaches for a curved knife.

Finally. A fight. What she's been looking forward to since the moment she was reaped. Hazel drops down onto the same branch as her, putting her backpack on a limb a bit above Toria. Toria does the same with hers.

The feathered lizards, confused by this change in tactic stop trying to jump, instead staring cautiously at the pair. There are six of them, reddish brown with darker stripes. They're all covered in large, close-lying feathers. Their tails are very long and used for balance.

On each foot, however, is a curved claw that is reminiscent of the knife Toria brandishes. A few of the lizards tap their claws on the ground, unsure of what to do. Finally, a slender one with green eyes as compared to the other's yellow ones lets out a loud caw.

This is a signal. They start to surround the pair, staring upwards. "Shit," Toria says, grinning, "They can think."

Unsheathing a second knife, this one straight, Toria examines the lizard-things. They fight occasionally, cawing and making an odd chirping noise to one another. They are very birdlike, bobbing their heads slightly as they walked. Problem is, birds are very intelligent animals.

"Here," Toria says, tossing a particularly long straight knife to Hazel, "Use this when they come."

"You don't want me using my arrows?"

"Save 'em for something life-threatening, like other tributes."

"This isn't considered life-threatening?" Hazel panics.

"Eh, maybe." At the look on Hazel's face, Toria sighs, smiling in amusement. "Use them sparingly and give that back to me."

Hazel barely has time to draw when the lizards start to jump again. Each one stands about six feet tall, and is about twenty-one feet long. Toria could ride them if she could get her hands on some rope and one of them. Hm, that isn't a bad idea, actually, she thinks.

Whirling on one foot, Toria slams the other into the head of one of the animals, giving it a shallow slice across the neck. Or so she thinks. The lizard falls to the ground, a few feathers after it. "Damn," she swears. At least the knives are sharp. That thought makes her grin.

Hazel is having some trouble. She's forced to kick while grappling with getting an arrow lined up properly on the bowstring. A lizard opens its jaws, almost getting ahold of her. Throwing the straight knife, the blade slashes a thin cut across the less-feathered top of its head. The animal falls to the ground, shrieking. It sounds like a hawk, Toria notes.

A small amount of blood stains the ground where it lands. It moans, having fallen on its side instead of its usual feet. A second animal stops the attack to nuzzle it gently. Giving a call, the second one helps the first to its feet. The rest of the pack stop attacking, instead giving the hurt lizard gentle nuzzles. They make an odd cooing noise, as if to soothe it.

The green eyed animal turns and opens its jaws, hissing at the two girls. Its mouth is lined with many sharp teeth that curve backwards slightly. This means that if it took a bite out of one of them, it'd come out with a chunk. Toria makes a mental note never to let that happen.

This lizard-thing is different than the rest. This one is slender, but the quickest. It also seems to be the smartest. It leaps high, onto a branch next to the girls.

"Houston, we have a problem," Toria says. Sheathing the curved knife, she grabs a hold on two straight ones. "Let's roll, featherbrain," she snarls, grinning manically.

Hazel, sensing this wasn't her fight and having not the slightest desire to interfere, climbs a little way up, somewhat out of harm's way.

The lizard screeches, hopping on its branch. The muscles in its legs flex, the toe claws tapping the limb. Suddenly, it jumps in the air, aiming for Toria. The girl, hair spiked back from the placement of the hairband, leaps towards it, pulling aside at the last second to rip a gash in its side.

The animal flexes its body to avoid this, landing back on the branch. Toria lands immediately after, doing a back handspring on the branch to avoid the lashing out of the long arms tipped with sharp, curved claws.

Landing on her tiptoes, Toria whips an arm around, catching one of the animal's fingertips with the knife. Screeching in surprise, the lizard-thing lunges forward, catching the bottom of Toria's shirt in its jaws.

Grinning, Toria uses the closeness to lay open a gash in the side of the animal's neck, pushing it slightly away with her forearm. Jumping, she rips the shirt away from the feathered lizard, performing and elegant spin kick into its side.

Letting out a scream, the animal falls out of the tree, landing on its feet, albeit a bit hard. Cackling, Toria steps towards it on the branch. Her hazel eyes glint as they meet the furious lizard's green ones. "Can't kill me, can you?" she practically purrs, "I wouldn't advise trying that again. I won't let you go then."

The animal screeches, a long, defiant sound. Turning towards the rest of its pack, it caws. They race away with bodies and pride hurt.

Hazel watches them before twisting around to look at her ally. The spiky haired girl twirls the bloodied straight dagger in one hand before giving the red a lick and putting it away. "That was fun," Toria says, grinning as ever.

* * *

AN: I think Toria has crossed the line between cool and badass… agree?

Either way, here's my Christmas/holiday present to you guys! A week til my birthday (last day of the year!)! I hope you all have lovely holidays!

I'll be uploading a Christmas special fic to my DeviantArt later, so if you want, check it out.


	10. Nowhere is Safe

Nudge walks along quickly, keeping the backpack hefted high on her shoulders. She had gone back to the Cornucopia earlier, after that monster had… _eaten_ little Twila.

She shudders at the memory. Stay clear of that. Its roar is etched in her memory forever. Every detail she had seen about it is eternally carved in her mind- the reddish brown, scaly looking skin, the fierce golden eyes, the black speckles that had decorated the odd sail-like ridge along its back.

An apex predator, that was for sure. Nudge sure hopes that that was the only one in this arena, but she has a nagging feeling there were more terrors just as bad out there.

It's rather peaceful, actually. Nudge needs to find a water source, but at least her water bottle is full. Overhead, the pine trees block most of the sun. In the flashes of sky above, sometimes, a flying thing swoops. It looks pretty big, so Nudge really doesn't want to encounter it.

A sound starts to reach her ears. It's a very welcome one- running water. Picking up her pace to a jog, Nudge heads towards it. But, much to her horror, she isn't the only one with a quick pace.

There's a faint tapping noise, like a bunch of light-footed animals running together. They're approaching quickly.

Panicking internally, Nudge looks all around for a weapon or a way out. Aha! A tree! Using the knowledge from her training session, she climbs up it as fast as she can. She's maybe twenty-five feet above the ground when the source of the steps comes dashing along.

They're so weird, Nudge thinks to herself. Slender and covered in sleek feathers, their shape resembles that of a lizard. They have very long, skinny tails that, judging by the way they move them, help with balance and steering. With big, curved claws on their hands and a huge claw on each foot, Nudge is suddenly glad she took splinters in her hands to get away.

Some of them appear to be injured. One of them is wheezing and limping. Maybe it took a bad fall? A thin cut is on the top of its head, staining the reddish feathers even redder. A second one, a slim specimen with green eyes, has blood dripping from a cut on its claws and from a deep gash on the side of its neck. It walks proudly, however, at the head of the pack.

Suddenly, this one stops, sniffing the air. It turns towards the tree where Nudge is, eyes narrowing with concentration. A curious chirp-like noise comes from it, when a wind blows from Nudge's right.

The animal twists its head around, inhaling deeply. It seems to brighten up, and, giving a caw to the pack, races off in the direction of the wind. The other creatures give caws of excitement, the wheezing one giving itself a strong shake. Then they chase after the green-eyed leader, tail-tips flicking from side to side.

Curiosity bites at Nudge. She knows she shouldn't follow them, it could be dangerous, but… they might know where food or a better source of water is. So long as she's careful, Nudge decides to follow them. By the time she gets down from the tree, their footsteps have faded away. A cannon suddenly booms. Who could it have been? Nudge ignores these thoughts and continues on her journey.

She sets a fast pace, running as quietly as she can while going in the direction of the feathered lizards. After a few minutes of doing this, she notices something very strange. The ground is starting to shake, like some enormous animal is walking. An elephant, maybe? Nudge has heard that they're really big.

The noise gets louder as Nudge gets closer, and finally, when she bursts through the trees into a huge clearing, she sees the source of it. She gapes at it, or rather, them.

Five _huge_ animals walk through the clearing. About sixty feet long and thirty feet high each, they're the biggest animals other than whales that Nudge has ever seen. They're a light, speckled tan, with very long necks and a good-sized tail, and as she watches, they start to call to each other. Short, almost trumpeting noises.

Common sense getting the best of her, she climbs into a tree again, still watching the animals. She's about thirty feet up when she stops, seeing something… or someone.

Walking calmly amongst the giants is Leah. She seems to think she's safe there, and honestly, Nudge can't blame her. The long-necked animals seem peaceful enough and any predator would have to think twice about attacking them.

At the corner of her eye, Nudge spots a hint of movement. Staring at it, she realizes that the feathered lizards, well-camouflaged in dried ferns and against tree bark, are hunting these long-necked beasts. They must be insane!

But as she watches, she sees the strategy in their placement. Roughly scattered around the herd, they're all hidden and watching. Watching for weakness.

One of the long-necks, slightly smaller than the rest and limping the tiniest bit, will be their target. Nudge can see that. Fortunately for Leah's sake, the six-foot high lizards' intended meal is farthest away from her.

With a screech, the attack begins. Leah jumps almost a foot in the air in shock as the lizard-things swarm the long-neck, using their powerful hind legs to jump. The one with the green eyes seems to be the leader of the hunt, as it automatically darts to the front. It's aiming for a clear shot at the throat.

The other five animals take turns leaping, using the claw to heft themselves up. It must be agony for the long-neck, having the feathered lizards climb it. The attackers give no mercy, instead digging their claws in deep and occasionally ripping a gash. Their front claws slash at the long-neck. The sharp teeth dig into its flesh. Within the first few moments of attacking, the feathered-lizards have bloodstained claws and jaws.

Leah is keeping pace with the other four long-necks, not wanting to stand out as the slow one.

The green-eyed leader faces off against its prey, snarling and hissing at it. It makes lunges at its throat. The long-neck bellows from the pain of being climbed and in an attempt to scare away this animal.

Finally, the leader gets a window of opportunity and leaps, jaws wide, at the exposed throat of the long-neck. Blood runs freely down its jaws as it clings to the neck with forelimbs and a hind foot. The jaws bite as hard as they can. The remaining back leg kicks at the throat, claw ripping through the skin. The attacker lets go, pushing away.

It lands on its feet, panting slightly while the rest of the pack continues the attack. The other long-necks are almost completely in the forest when suddenly they backpedal, heading towards the clearing again.

Finally, the prey gives up. With an enormous thud, it lands, dead. Calling to each other in the face of victory, the predators eat the carcass, ignoring the other animals.

Another, faster-paced and louder thud announces the unwelcome arrival of a familiar face. The biggest predator, the heavy-jawed animal with the ridge on its back, runs into the clearing at full speed, roaring loudly.

Nudge is very glad she's above its head, in a tree.

Leah isn't so lucky. The predator spots her and immediately runs for her. She lets out a scream of pure fear before it snatches her up, snapping her backbone with a single crunch. The cannon fires. Dead.

The bigger predator drops the body on the ground, roaring away the other long-necks. Nudge isn't sure why he isn't eating her, until the animal growls at the feathered lizards. It wants their meal.

The feathered lizards, however outmatched by the size of the other predator, do _not_ want to give up their prey. The body of Leah lies on the ground, forgotten, and as Nudge watches, a hovercraft materializes and picks it up. Momentarily distracted, the big predator snaps at the craft, only to find it gone. Frustrated, it turns back towards the fallen long-neck.

Roaring again, it advances towards the meat. But the feathered lizards won't let it, arranging themselves into a line in front of their meal.

Snarling and hissing, they definitely are intimidating, and Nudge has to admire their courage. The feathers on their heads are raised up, and they make slashing movements with their front claws. Their feet stamp, showing off the big claws on them.

When the bigger animal continues to approach, the green-eyed leader gives a shrieking war cry, speeding around the bigger animal. It doesn't have time to turn before it is climbing its back. Other members of its pack follow quickly, biting hard at its sides.

The giant roars, shaking the smaller animals off. Giving a defeated moan, it heads back into the forest, leaving the feathered animals with their meal.

Nudge can do nothing but stare in awe. How did they do that so cleanly, so neatly, so quickly? Not one member of the pack was injured beyond the wounds they had before. The leader moves a little more stiffly now, its head bobbing less, but it seems pleased with itself as it moved to take bites of the most tender belly meat.

Nudge watches the animals feed for a few minutes before deciding it's safe to climb down. Cautiously she gets back to the ground. One of the creatures gives her a lazy look before deciding that she isn't worth a chase, and that the fallen long-neck makes a much better meal.

After the yellow eyes move away from her, she quietly heads deeper into the forest. Hopefully she'll be able to find a good shelter before nightfall, which was soon. Then she could see who all had died…

She replays the movements and behavior of the creatures in her mind. Very birdlike, she realizes. Bobbing heads, chirps, the way they hold their arms… like a human about to clap… When they had jumped, though, they had held their arms out like they were trying to take flight or give someone a hug.

A hug of doom, Nudge thinks.

Suddenly, the image of the animal shifts in her mind. The reddish brown feathers stay a similar hue, turning more orangey, and turn into hair, staying mottled. The gait stays the same, but the tail and toeclaws disappear. Nudge realizes that the feathered lizards remind her of Toria.

The toeclaw's shape reminds her of that curved knife that Toria favored. It was like one of the feathered lizards had been turned into the girl… Nudge simply hopes that Toria will be more merciful to her prey than the lizards were to the long-neck…

* * *

Yeah, I know, I said I wouldn't update until the New Year. But here it is! My present to you, despite the fact that today, December 31, is my birthday. 'Course, I had to get a bad stomachache on it, but... whatever.

I'm doing better now, though. Next chapter has probably one of my favorite scenes I've ever written in it, so keep watch for that. Have a Happy New Year!


	11. Blood, Justice, and the Moon

AN: Aw, no reviews for last chapter? Oh well. Enjoy one of my favorite scenes at the end on this.

* * *

If you happen to be in the arena, you might hear laughter, amazingly enough. Sharp laughter, but laughter nonetheless. Overhead, in the pine trees, a pair of figures flit about. One stands tall and confident (despite the fact that she isn't very tall), the other more cautiously and half in a crouch.

"Haze!" Toria calls, "Hurry up! There's a good campsite over here, and I don't want to miss the death call."

"Is that what you call it?" Hazel mutters as she leaps from limb to limb. She, having grown up in a place where night hunting was considered the norm, is used to tree-jumping at night. Her blue eyes shine in the dark, similar to a cat's.

Toria lands on a particularly big branch, balancing on her toe tips. Glancing up the trunk, she grins, the moonlight gleaming off her teeth. "This'll do," she says, "And is there any other good name for it?"

Shaking her head, Hazel alights on a higher branch than Toria's. "Are we going up?" she asks.

"Yeah."

"But what about those flying things…"

Toria waves the comment away with a hand, testing the bark with the other. "They went to bed at dusk, I haven't seen them for a while. Besides, at least one of us will be up on watch at all times. No worries about them, then."

"Okay…"

Gripping the rough bark in her hands, Toria climbs her way up the trunk swiftly, transferring her weight quickly and keeping her center of gravity stable. In no time, she reaches a large fork in the tree. A dip is in the center, wider than a branch and a good place for one person to sleep. Higher up, a fork provides a good seat for a person on watch.

"Lovely," Toria nods at the space, not showing the slightest exertion at the climb upwards. Dumping off her pack, she jumps up to the fork, eyes gleaming. "It's almost midnight," she judges by the moon's position.

Hazel jumps up, looking up as well. "Yeah," she murmurs, "almost time to see who's left." Setting down her bow and quiver of arrows, she asks, "My watch first?"

"Nah, I'll do it. But you better not fall asleep 'til after the death call."

"Fine," Hazel agrees, pulling a jacket from the Cornucopia from her pack. Rolling it up, she puts it down, obviously intending to use it as a pillow. The oxygen-rich air is very warm, making any need for a blanket obsolete.

An anthem blares from somewhere, and the two look to the sky. A hovercraft thing is in it, displaying the country's crest. A voice calls out. "Helloooo tributes! How was your first day in the arena?" Livy. Who else? "Good? Good? Great. No, I'm not inviting you to anything, I'm simply giving you some company so that those of you loners don't have to talk to the nearest coconut out of desperation."

With that said, her voice cuts off. Pictures start to appear in the sky. Leah. Brandle. Both District Ones were goners, then, Toria thinks to herself. Raven, then Twila. That's it. A fourth of the tributes gone. The anthem plays once more.

"Hm. A bit disappointing, but we'll just weed out the rest of the competition. That bastard Aley is still alive," Toria growls.

Hazel yawns sleepily. She is ready to go to sleep by now. "Yeah, tomorrow, then…" She lays her head down on the makeshift pillow and sleeps, Toria watching for enemies…

…

"HOLY MOTHER!" Hazel wakes up with a start at Toria's screech of shock.

"That's a new one," she groans, "What's going on?"

Toria's eyes are bugged out. Hazel's never seen her so surprised. Toria points to the moon. "Look."

Glancing up grumpily, Hazel sees what has apparently freaked her ally out. The full moon isn't so full anymore. A shadow from the left has obscured part of it.

"Yeah, the moon's different. What's wrong with that?" Hazel sees nothing about it so important that it was necessary to wake her up.

Toria turns around, an unamused light in her eyes. "It was a full moon a couple hours ago. That's not the weird part."

"…then what is?"

"The moon wanes from the right, not the left."

Hazel is confused. Part of it's her sleep-muddled brain, part of it's the fact that she has no idea what the word "wane" means.

Toria grins, a bit exasperated. "I don't know what this is, but it probably means a challenge. I wasn't paying attention to the sky, and this greeted me when I finally did."

Nodding sleepily, Hazel yawns. "Okay then. Are your hands hurting as much as mine are? The bark here is rougher than the stuff at home."

"Yep." Toria holds up scraped hands. "I wish we had some sort of stuff for it."

As if by magic, a small package supported by a silver parachute drops down on them. A sponsor gift. Toria, tensing her legs, jumps. Snatching it from midair, she lands neatly, unwrapping it.

"Awesome," Hazel comments, standing up to open up the package. Sticking her fingertips in the contents, she sighs happily as the cream starts to heal her tiny many wounds. Scrapes were annoying and the pain they caused was potentially dangerous- it could distract one at a vital moment of a jump.

After she pulls out enough to coat her hands, Toria does the same. "Thank you!" Toria calls to the sky, hoping a camera will catch her shout. Putting the cream in a bag, Toria glances over to talk to Hazel but finds her asleep already. "Typical," she snorts, exasperated but amused.

She stays up a little later than necessary, watching the moon. Eventually, the moon disappears completely, gone. But as Toria watches, the moon reappears, but… an orangey color. A coppery tone.

Toria's never seen one before herself, but she's heard of these… lunar eclipses. She wonders why the Gamemakers chose the first night in the arena to have one. The moon continues on its path, eventually turning a deep red.

It's the brightest, reddest moon Toria's ever seen. It deserves the name of blood moon more than any other lunar eclipse she's seen pictures of. It doesn't look entirely natural in the sky...

It casts a bloody glow on everything, staining it like blood. The tree tops are reddish, the leaves gaining a crimson hue. Scarlet tints Toria's blades, looking like they've been used for more than a simple defense against the lizards and not cleaned (Toria always cleans her knives).

Yawning now, she grins at the moon. It really is pretty, something she'd like watching over her as she falls asleep. Getting off the watch post, she wakes Hazel up.

Poor kid gets quite the shock when she wakes up. Toria's wide grin is stained the color of rubies and the red light from the moon shines off her hazel eyes. She looks maniacal, which is not helped by the fact that a curved blade is held in a hand.

Yelping, Hazel pushes herself awake, a hand automatically going back for an arrow. Her ally laughs. "Your watch," is all Toria says before she flops down, closing her eyes.

Hazel looks up at the blood moon. That's not natural, she thinks. Oh well. It doesn't seem to be doing anything bad… other than terrifying her when Toria looks at her. But nonetheless, no harm.

Hazel pushes these thoughts of blood and Toria's red-tinted eyes in the moonlight away. Pulling out on of the many arrows she had, she plucks a tiny, tiny little dagger from her pack. Its hilt is made simply to be pinched between a couple of fingers. However, Hazel knows what she'll do with this miniscule weapon.

…

"Come on, Haze, geez… you _had_ to wake me up so early, didn't ya?" Toria yawns, pulling on a backpack.

"It's your fault you stayed up so late…" the black haired girl mutters.

Shaking her mottled hair, Toria moves the headband so that it forces her hair out into an almost spiky do. "Blame the Gamemakers," she growls, "Blood moons rock."

Letting off a huge yawn, Toria gives herself a shake. "Well, let's go." Taking the lead, she starts tree-jumping, leaving Hazel to scramble after her.

After a few minutes of jumping, they arrive at a new thing: a river. It's rather wide and silvery, flowing rapidly. Toria stops on a branch above it, noting the distance between her branch and the ones on the other side. Stepping back a few paces, she gets a running start and launches herself over the river, catching a branch.

She turns to Hazel, grinning. "Come on, it's easy!" she yells.

Hazel is worried. Toria is much stronger than she is, having shown off her power in training. She had also seen how easily Toria had given a kick to Iggy's ribs, cracking them. Hazel is much better suited to speed and agility, which does not come in handy in a situation like this.

"I'm… going to find a narrower portion," she says hesitantly.

"Wimp!" Toria crows, turning around, ready to go.

This infuriates Hazel. You do _not_ call her names. Coiling her muscles, she jumps as far as she can, aiming for a branch.

When she feels herself start to fall, she knows she won't make it.

The cold water is a shock. The speed of it even more so.

And Hazel can't swim.

She's always been terrified of deep water. The river here hadn't looked too deep, but she had been wrong. And now she is going to pay for her mistake.

The backpack weighs her down, the arrows and bow secure. She wouldn't be able to get them out, lighten the load. Her breath started to run out as she kept her eyes tightly shut, listening to the roar of the river and curling up. The river is fairly smooth bottom, not rocky, just sandy.

Hazel's chest grows tight as her breath departed her. Keeping her muscles tensed takes too much energy, and against her will, she feels herself start to go limp. Blackness starts to take over her vision.

A huge disturbance in the water nearby happens, but Hazel only cares when a hand grabs her arm and yanks her up.

The hand drags her out of the water, onto a wet and sandy bank. "Damnit!" a voice swears, "Damnit, you _idiot_."

Toria. Hazel coughs, heaving up a lungful of water. Toria smacks her on the back, hard, forcing more water up. Gasping for air, Hazel's breathing eventually settles into wheezing as she curls onto her side, exhausted.

Toria pulls Hazel's backpack off. When Hazel gains back enough breath to focus on what she's doing, she feels ashamed upon realizing what the blunder has cost them both.

Both of them had their backpacks on when they had dove into the water, accidently on Hazel's part. Their food is all ruined. The jacket is soaking, the weapons wet. They would rust if they weren't dried quickly.

Arrow feathers sopping, bow string wet. If left out to dry properly, they'd stay okay. But all the food is gone.

"We're going to starve now," Toria mutters after she sets out what can be salvaged.

"Really?" Hazel asks weakly, sitting up.

"We're going to have to hunt for more than just tributes. Our food is wet and ruined."

Hazel glances down, ashamed. "Oh…"

Toria, her hair flat against her head and darker from the water, starts scrubbing the weapons dry. "We can save these," she decides.

Hazel starts to get up, examining her bow and arrows. "I think the feathers were from a waterbird," she notes, "They're dry. And I think it's fake wood…" She turns her attention to the bow. "Fake wood, again… and the string seems waterproof."

Spinning around with a fake grin plastered on her face, Toria says, "Great. Then why don't you find us some food, will ya?"

Hazel gives a grimace and stalks off, muttering, "I almost drowned, you know…"

She walks for a few minutes, on the ground this time. Her hand's on her bow, ready to fire if necessary. After about ten minutes of this, there's an odd, almost chirping noise up ahead. Pulling herself into the safety of a tree, she pads along until she finds the source of the noise.

It's more feathered lizards. Oh, joy. These, however, are different from the one's Hazel has seen before. These are only about three feet high and eleven feet long. Instead of being the striped reddish brown of bigger feathered lizards, these are a pale gray, almost a blue. Thin, barely noticeable stripes mark their backs. Longer feathers, these sticking up from the sleeker body ones, are on the back of their heads.

Like the bigger feathered lizards, these have winglike feathers on their forearms. They have the same body and head shape as their larger kin (Hazel assumes the last part) and curved claws on their hands. A bigger claw, like Toria's favorite knife, is on each of their feet.

Yes, these are definitely related.

This group seems less coordinated than the other pack. They are, for the most part, ambling along. Occasionally they'd snap at each other. It seems like a good chain of command was never established.

There are seven of them. Seven opportunities for dinner.

…

"So let me get this straight," Toria says. She had finished drying her weapons when Hazel had come bursting in, saying there were good, big animals for food but she wanted Toria to see them. "There are more of these feathered lizards."

"Yep."

"And they're smaller, though a bit more numerous, than the other kind we encountered."

"Definitely."

"And they're blue."

Hazel laughs quietly. "Pretty much, yeah."

Toria picks up the pace, jogging along the branches as silently as she can be. In a few minutes, they find these smaller lizard things.

"We need a name for them," Toria comments, "We can't call them feathered lizards too."

"Scythe claws?"

"That'll work."

Toria shifts into a hunting crouch, watching the scythe claws. They animals have stopped momentarily, calling amongst themselves in a disorganized manner. "Hey Hazel," she starts, smiling, "Which one looks best to you?"

Gazing at the lizardlike animals for a moment, Hazel eventually says, "That one. The perky one, the one that keeps jumping around."

"The one with the short head feathers?"

"Yeah, that one."

Toria adjusts the blade in her hand. It's the favored curved one. She's grinning widely. "You want to get it or me?"

"Allow me." Hazel reaches back for her bow, selecting a special arrow. This one has been modified, the tiny point on the end switched for the little dagger. Drawing the bow, she aims carefully for the little creature. Sighting along the arrow, she releases it.

Suddenly, the arrow is buried in the animal's eye. With a sharp shriek that's abruptly cut off, it falls to the ground, dead. Toria, not caring about the others, lands on the ground with a thump. Whirling around, the scythe claws start screeching at her, flexing their muscles.

"Haze." Toria grins wider than ever. A challenge. "Please get our meal."

Hazel obliges, darting out of the tree to try to pick up the animal. "Toria!" she cries desperately as the scythe claws start to focus their attention on her, "This thing weighs more than I do!"

Toria rolls her eyes, still grinning. Yelling at the animals, she slashes at them with her knife, making them back away. "Shoo! Scat! Go away! This is _our_ food!"

The scythe claws scream at her, sounding almost like a hawk or falcon. They start to back away nonetheless. When Toria flies at them, swiping her blade through the air and shrieking loudly, they finally break rank and flee.

Toria turns her attention back to the fallen scythe claw. "Let's eat," she says, grinning from ear to ear.

They build a fire, and clean out the animal. The good muscle is speared on sticks and stuck over the fire. Lifting the entire animal would've taken too much effort- by Toria's estimate, the thing weighed maybe 160 pounds. More than Hazel indeed, more than Toria as well.

Impatient for food, Toria rips a chunk off her portion the instant it's declared done. She ignores the steaming hotness of it, instead saying, "Tastes like chicken."

…

With the rest of the meat packed away, the pair get in the trees and begin their hunt once more. Toria, obviously intent on blood, listens carefully for any sign of a tribute. Hazel hasn't heard anything when Toria suddenly stops her, a finger to her lips.

There. A soft crunch, crunch. Footsteps, and human ones at that.

Toria's signature grin spreads across her face. This time, though, it's full of menace. "I know that gait," she says ever-so-softly.

Without waiting for a response, she springs away, darting through the trees. She accidently rustles some leaves. The footsteps stop unexpectedly. There's a slight scratching noise, like the maker of the noise is climbing into a tree.

With a start, Hazel realizes who Toria has been alerted to- Aley.

Scrambling after her, just as quietly, though, Hazel watches Toria speed through the trees until she suddenly stops. Hazel follows her gaze to a sixteen year-old with dark, mottled hair. Aley.

Thankfully, neither of them have noticed her. Hazel hides behind a large clump of leaves. She does not, under any circumstance, want to interfere in whatever will happen between them. For reasons unknown to Hazel, the two _loathe_ each other.

"Fancy seeing you here." Aley's comment is short and clipped.

"Same to you." Toria dips her head in mock politeness. Hazel is certain that they are being focused on right now, so long as there isn't a more interesting fight than this one going on right now.

"Hiding in the trees, I see," Aley notes, smiling slightly. "A coward, as usual. Not expecting anything else from you."

Giving a short, harsh laugh, Toria remarks, "Oh? I suppose you didn't notice that you are in one as well? Ah, well. Stupid, as usual. Not expecting anything else from you," she mocks his last statement. "What, did you think we were one of the feathered lizards? Are they too big and bad for you?" The final few words are said as if to a baby.

Aley's well-mannered façade slips a bit, the smile fading. "As if. If I can handle you and your sister, I can handle those things."

Oh dear. Aley has hit the berserk button. Toria's face loses its grin, darkening. Her upper lip curls up into a snarl. "I distinctly remember that you happened to run away from that fight, Aley," she says softly. Dangerously.

Aley bends his knees, pulling a pair of long, straight daggers from his belt. "Ah, but you see, dear Toria," he chuckles, infuriating her further, "Up until that point, it was simply your lovely sister stopping me from completely winning against you."

"Don't. You. _Dare_ call Bry that," Toria growls, pulling out a second curved knife.

Silvery gray eyes flashing, Aley sneers, "Oh, I dare. Besides, I have the right to call her pretty or sexy or whatever I want. She told me so herself."

Toria holds her arms out slightly to the side, balancing on her toes again. "You lost that right a long time ago. You lost it when you broke her heart. She may have said that you can call her whatever you want then, but trust me… you don't deserve to even look at her."

"And you're going to stop me?" Aley snorts as if it's a joke.

"I can. And I will."

A broad grin spreading across his face, Aley brandishes the daggers, getting into a fighting position. "I bet you can't."

"I bet I can," Toria replies, tilting her head to the side and starting to grin as well.

"You really think that?" Aley looks amused and cocky, as if he knows he can win. He's bigger than Toria, more muscular as well.

Giving him a dazzling smile, Toria says, "I'll bet my life that I can beat you… bastard."

Suddenly, they rush at each other. Aley thrusts his left dagger out at Toria's chest. The girl dives under him in a forward roll, landing on her tip toes and spinning. Her blades whirling, she pauses, smirking. "I'm over he-re," she sings, ducking to avoid his slash.

While she's lower, she does an interesting twist on one leg that kicks the other in Aley's direction. When it hits his stomach, she flips onto her hands, knocking one of his daggers away. Still gripping her knives, she alights right-side-up, only to get a slice along the left side of her jawbone.

Hissing in pain, she darts back several steps, blood dripping from the wound. Aley matches her step for step, slashing at her with his single remaining dagger and aiming blows at her with his other fist. Toria blocks them with her knives, the blades sending sparks up when they hit his.

Launching herself sideways, Toria puts one of her knives in her teeth as she moves to a new branch. "Every bit as slow as I remember," she growls around it.

"Every bit as weak as I remember," Aley counters, deflecting a snap kick from her foot with the flat of the blade.

Curving her body away from a potential dagger blow, she laughs. "You're so predictable," she says, throwing a knife at him.

Aley moves aside to avoid it, but it catches his left shoulder and leaves a deep, bloody gash in it. Yelping in pain, he isn't able to avoid the powerful kick that follows. It hits his collarbone, sending him out of the tree and into a small clearing. He somehow flips around in midair and lands on his feet.

"Damnit," Toria swears, leaping after him. The pair circle each other for a moment, not sure who would leap first. Finally, Aley breaks the dance with a shoulder shove into Toria.

Toria goes with the blow, backflipping on one hand to attempt to kick his face. Aley avoids the blow easily, pushing the foot aside and ruining her balance. "You know, your kicks wouldn't be so bad if you put some actual effort into them, bitch," he comments, barely managing to avoid her next move, a slice with the knife to the belly.

"You know, your kicks wouldn't be so bad if you actually did them," Toria says. She winces when he does one and manages to catch her a little below the waist. Stumbling backwards, she falls on her back, unbalanced. Aley is over her in an instant.

"Oh, is the little princess hurt?" he croons, keeping her down with a firm hand to the shoulder. Taking his dagger, he carves a little slit in the other shoulder's shirt, barely touching the skin beneath with the blade.

Furious hazel eyes meet gray ones as Toria suddenly grins. "Better a princess than a toad," she remarks cheerfully, swinging both her legs up in an enormous kick that sends Aley flying backwards. He hits a tree, and before he can slump to the ground, Toria is on him, stealing the dagger and sending it flying away.

"Now, Aley," she breathes heavily, forcing him to stay pressed against the tree with a powerful arm, "Where were we? Oh, have I gotten the upper hand?"

The dazed-from-impact boy glares steadily up at her, panting. "You'll never win," he growls.

Toria twirls her knife in her left hand. Hazel notes that, although she throws with her right hand, she prefers to use the left for closer control.

A slight smile spreading across her face, Toria brings herself closer to Aley, almost intimately so. Pressing the tip of her knife against his throat, she whispers, "I just did," while dragging the blade deep into his neck. He lets out a strangled gurgle, blood flowing freely from the wound. Toria rips her weapon from his neck, turning away and saying, "That was for my sister."

Behind her, the bloody and dead body of her enemy slumps to the ground as a cannon fires.


	12. Gone Fishing

Just one death this time. Just one life ended. Angel watches the sky by her brother's side when the lone picture shows up: Aley's.

Gazzy frowns thoughtfully at the sight of it. "I wonder how he died," he wonders.

Shrugging, Angel replies, "I'm sure it was interesting- after all, no traps have been let loose on us."

"Though the animals are more than a match for us…"

They'd gone east, and they'd found some rather unique animals. They've never seen any of them before.

There was a well-armored one, two, actually, that was speckled brown. Huge spikes rose out of their shoulders, and, for some odd reason, their tails were similar to a chainsaw's blade.

Another weirdo, a lizard-like animal that walked on all fours, was fairly numerous. Angel had counted thirteen of them when they had passed. A grayish blue with darker stripes, they were maybe twenty-five feet long at max, with incredibly long, heavily-built tails. Angel had the feeling they were there for a very good reason.

A third animal she had only gotten a glimpse of moved in a herd. Over thirty feet long and bigger than the gray long-tails, they had roughly the same shape as them. Their tails were shorter and their greenish skin had been speckled with brown.

Much more disturbingly, though, was the footprint in the mud Angel had found. She had neglected to mention it to Gazzy, keeping it a secret. Two toes, splayed like a bird's, had made the print. At the end of each toe had been a mark that looked like a long, sharp claw.

Gazzy checks around, a quick but thorough examination of their surroundings. They had been lucky to find this tree- a huge, old looking one that had giant arching roots. The roots provided welcome shelter from bad weather. "Okay," he says, "Let's get some sleep."

The hot and humid climate has continued throughout the Game (AN: Haha, you lost it!). Gazzy crawls between a couple of roots into a hidden space below. Angel drops in behind him, glancing up. The moon is just barely visible through the branches of their tree. It's starting to wane away.

Angel lies down on the spare clothes spread on the ground. Gazzy curls up next to her, draping an arm around his little sister protectively. His other hand is on a spear he's managed to get. Angel herself is not weaponless- she has a dagger.

The two slip into slumber, unaware of the thundering pounding of feet outside of their makeshift home. The panicked calls of the greenish lizards are punctuated by a single male scream, followed by a cannon boom.

* * *

Nudge pads through the forest, alert to sounds. She's very careful, making sure to keep her footsteps are soft and quiet.

There's a noise in a tree above her. She glances up, smiling at the somewhat familiar sight. They're birds, primitive-looking ones, but the feathered flyers are much more normal than some of the other animals in this arena.

They hop around on the branches, occasionally calling to one another with an odd chirp. Decorated with bright feathers, their presence seems to ward off the bigger, toothed flyers. Those light brown animals will get close to the tree-tops here, snapping their jaws, only to swoop away when the birds start pecking at their more exposed wings.

Continuing her amble through the forest, Nudge knows that, eventually, she'll have to fight. Until then, she'll happily enjoy the peace.

After a few minutes of walking, Nudge can hear a noise up ahead. A gurgling noise… Water! Keeping her backpack firmly on, she lightly runs towards the noise. The river is deep here, with not-quite murky water and a sandy bottom. It flows quickly through the forest.

Smiling to herself at this new find, Nudge checks her backpack to make sure her supplies are in the waterproof bags she found at the Cornucopia. Satisfied, she wades into the river confidently.

Drawing a deep breath, she plunges underwater, her eyes adjusting to underwater-sight. Confidently she swims across, allowing herself to drift with the current a bit. Surfacing on the other side of the river, she pulls herself out, dripping.

Shaking her head, she sprays water droplets from her soaking head. When she doesn't drip any more, she continues on her way. After a few minutes of walking, a noise makes her freeze. Cautiously peering around a tree, she sees her District partner, Kevin, padding through the woods.

She never really talked to the medium-skinned boy in her home District. She'd seen him around and heard of his legendary ability at swimming, but not gotten to know him. She was fairly sure he had a little sister in the grade below her.

Debating whether to talk or to flee, her ability to choose is abruptly cut off. A light brown streak buries itself in Kevin's throat, cutting off his life. With a strangled noise and a spurt of blood he collapses. A cannon fires. Dead.

Nudge claps her hands to her mouth with a strangled squeak of surprise. To add to the situation, a familiar orangey haired figure leaps out of a tree, landing on her toes like a bird.

"Sa-niper!" she says, somehow stretching the word into three syllables. Plucking the arrow out of Kevin's throat and releasing a squirt of blood in the process, Toria examines the weapon. "How the heck do you get these things to balance? They're so front-heavy."

Hazel, landing like a cat when she jumps, smiles at Toria. She's not as bold as her ally, Nudge notes, much shyer and subdued. Hazel is like a little black cat and Toria is like some type of predatory bird. Hm… Are all the tributes like animals? Nudge mentally compares them in her head.

Fang could be a black panther. Max reminds Nudge of a peregrine falcon, one of the animals that remained unchanged since the disaster all those years ago. Angel might be a swan…

Nudge focuses her attention back on the pair.

Hazel takes the arrow back, a faint bit of disgust showing in her blue eyes as she wipes the blood off. Now Nudge can see that the tip has been replaced by a tiny dagger. "Practice," she says quickly, smiling at Toria's version of praise.

Toria nods. "Of course. Your explanation is cliché, though."

"Did you expect anything else?"

"Meh."

Nudge decides now is the time to leave. Backing up slowly, she makes her way carefully away from the deadly pair. Then her foot snaps a twig.

Instantly, their heads snap up, staring at the maker of the noise.

Toria tilts her head to the side slightly, a grin forming on her face. "Fancy seeing you here," she says. Her hand moves towards the belt at her hip.

Nudge doesn't even think, just turns and runs. She's lucky. The sudden change of direction lets her avoid Toria's blade. It whistles over her head as it lodges itself in a tree instead of in Nudge.

"Ah, we got a challenging one this time," Toria notes, watching Nudge flee. She holds out her hand to Hazel. "Your bow, please." Nudge is out of the range for her knives by now.

Hazel gives her a weird look. "I didn't know you could shoot-"

"_Your bow_, Hazel," Toria interrupts firmly. Her greenish brown eyes trace Nudge's route. Hazel reluctantly hands it and an arrow over.

With surprising speed and ability, Toria draws the bow, sighting along the arrow. With a _twang_ she releases it.

Nudge hears it coming and twists to the side at the last minute. The arrow buries itself in tree.

"Slippery little bugger, isn't she?" Toria remarks, shoving the bow back at Hazel. "Let's hunt."

Nudge can barely hear those words. She's far away by now, but she knows that skilled tree-hoppers can hit extremely high speeds. There's only one place Nudge stands a chance at survival.

There's loud rustling noises in the trees behind her as she runs. "Oh, Nudgey," Toria sings, "Won't you stay and dance?"

Shuddering, Nudge slips off her backpack when she hears the sound of the river. The lightened weight on her body allows her to sprint, finally in sight of the river.

Putting on an extra burst of speed, she launches herself forward, the branches behind her rustling furiously from the jumps of the tree-hoppers. Not bothering to worry about the depth of the river, she gulps a deep breath and leaps high, diving cleanly into the water.

Swimming quickly, making sure not to splash the surface, Nudge heads downriver, with the current. She finds a shelter of underwater roots, holding her breath and squinting towards the surface.

Toria stalks the bank. "I saw her," she growls, "I know I did. Come out, come out, little fish…" she says in a sing-song tone, shedding her backpack.

Nudge finds a tiny, hidden space in the roots to exchange her air out. Inhaling a new lungful, she submerges again.

All is quiet for a moment. Then there is a horrible sound to Nudge's ears: a splash.

Toria is in the water.

Nudge can see her. Maybe fifteen yards away, clutching a straight knife between her teeth and scanning the river. Her underwater sight is obviously not as good as Nudge's, because, although Nudge can clearly see the girl, Toria is having trouble finding Nudge.

The river current brings Toria closer to Nudge. The District Sixer goes up for a breath, and as she passes Nudge, her hand brushes the roots. Instinctively, she grabs on.

Toria breathes heavily as she clings to the roots, sucking in air after the exertion of swimming underwater.

Nudge's lungs tighten. She needs oxygen soon.

Toria stares around, twirling her knife in her hand as she looks over the water for darker shapes that might be Nudge.

To some relief for Nudge, this seems to be the only weapon she brought in the water with her. If she can wrestle the weapon out of Toria's grip, then she stands a chance at coming out of this alive.

With a sudden burst of speed and strength Nudge jumps out of the water, gasping for air as she tackles the startled Toria from behind. With a yelp, Toria is pushed underwater, arms pinned by her sides.

Bubbles flying out of her mouth, Toria twists in Nudge's grip. She's underestimated Toria's strength, and the Sixer kicks away, keeping her dagger with her. She heads towards the surface, needing air already.

Nudge flexes her body powerfully, charging after her. Toria sucks in a breath before Nudge rams her from underneath and slightly behind. Toria cannot reach Nudge from that position.

Toria flails and twists, finally shaking Nudge off with a powerful kick to the stomach. Swimming away as fast as she can, Toria tries to outswim the stunned Nudge.

Nudge gets a deep breath before going after Toria. The other girl has gotten a short ways away by the time Nudge tackles her again, grabbing by the back this time. Toria's height suddenly grows a bit, and Nudge realizes what's happened; Toria has lead Nudge towards the shore.

Toria still has a grip on the knife as she holds Nudge in a chokehold. Dragging the dark-skinned girl out of the water, Toria throws Nudge on the bank, driving the breath out of her.

Hair dark and dripping, Toria hisses at Nudge. Her knees keep Nudge's torso stuck on the ground while her right hand secures Nudge's shoulders. "You may be the queen of the water," she growls, "but you made a huge mistake in messing with the royalty of the trees."

Toria's face suddenly twisted into a sadistic grin. "Good-bye, little fish," she says simply, pressing her blade hard onto Nudge's neck.

Red hot pain shoots through Nudges neck as she sees some of her own blood gush out before it all just… fades… away…


	13. Hunter and Hunted

AN: Sorry about the wait, guys, but I had midterms, a massive art/spanish project, and I discovered the show _Primeval_.

* * *

Urk. Max hates these Games, hates these Games, hates these Games. Every time she hears a pine needle fall or a bird land, she jumps. Of course, by now she shouldn't have been expecting anything different. But still… the Gamemakers could loose anything on her… a Trash Can of Doom, for example.

In Max's opinion, it isn't as bad as it could be. In times past, she's seen tributes terrorized in a mansion. It was big, it was dark, and blood and monsters were everywhere. If you tried to go outside of it, there was blood webs on the trees and _something _big in the forest. No one dared to go outside.

On the contrary, this arena seems to be nice. Ish. Ish because Max had climbed a tree earlier, using her knowledge from Hazel, and nearly died because of it. The flying thingies had swooped at her, trying to make her fall and die. Max had quickly come down from the tree.

Now, with the sky free of the flying things and nothing scary on her tail, Max is content. She has a nice slender sword to defend herself with and a backpack full of supplies she had scavenged when she returned to the Cornucopia. She is ready to face anything.

Anything except the prickle that means she's being watched.

Instinctively, she knows so. Tightening her grip on her sword, she stares around, challenging whoever is looking at her from a hidden place to come out.

There's a slight rustle, as if whoever it is is being less careful now that they know that they've been spotted (sort of). Much to Max's surprise, it's Fang.

"Fang?" she asks, startled. She keeps her grip tight, though, seeing as he is armed with a machete- a natural choice considering his rainforest home.

"Max," he replies, dipping his head to her in greeting. He seems to have fared well so far. One of his sleeves is shredded for some reason, and there's several mottled bruises on his arms. His shoes are coated with dust-turned-mud.

Max herself hasn't been as lucky so as to avoid more injury than him. Her hands are scraped up from her climb and there are multiple bruises on her body when she fell a couple branches down in the tree when the flying thing attacked her. There's puncture wounds from its teeth.

What had happened was that Max had climbed the tree, getting quite high. The pair of flyers had sailed over, and Max hadn't taken much worry at the sight of them; they were too small to carry her off, and by the looks of their teeth (small and conical), they ate fish. She hadn't expected one of them to zoom towards her, and, using incredible agility, latch its… beak onto her arm. The momentum had dragged her off her branch, where the thing dropped her. Max had tumbled down a few branches before catching one, safely out of the flyer's way and off the ground.

"What happened to you?" he asks, staring at the bite marks.

She glances down at her arm. They aren't very deep, and didn't bleed all that much, but they were quite red. "Don't climb high into a tree when those flyers are around."

"Ohh."

Max nods, giving him a wary glance. Tilting her head up, which was matched by Fang, she says, "Now what? Are we going to fight, or what?"

Fang hesitated before replying with, "I don't see why we have to."

Suddenly, a cannon goes off, and the pair jump. Max, still cautious, backs away from Fang, departing with the words, "Next time we meet, one of us won't walk away."

Fang watches her go, silently following her path with his eyes. _That_ was an awkward meeting, he decides.

Still, he is glad he didn't have to fight her. He may be armed, but he has a sinking feeling that Max's slender sword could beat him and his machete anytime she pleased. He should just be thankful that she wasn't in the mood to kill.

Keeping a firm grip on his weapon, he trots off in one direction, away from Max. Once, through the branches of the trees, he spots on of those flyers. Nasty looking teeth come from their jaws.

It's odd, Fang thinks. This arena seems to be fairly barren. Sure, there were insects (rather large ones at that) and occasionally he'd spot a bird flying around. They were strange, primitive things. Fang had always been one for solitude, though, so he isn't needing to find a coconut to talk too (he'd seen none).

Fang is still thinking about the odd absence of animals when he spots something on the ground. Tracks, it looks like. They're weird, like none he's seen before. They have no claws, however, so Fang judges it safe to follow them.

Jogging at a moderate pace, he finds the source fairly quickly. It's a herd of animals, thirteen of them. They're grayish blue with darker stripes, and look a bit like lizards. With rather long, heavy tails behind them, Fang thinks their used as weapons. However, when he cautiously approaches them, they make no move to attack or defend. Their placid gazes remind him of a cow.

They ambled along at a very slow pace, occasionally eating the ferns they came across. That reminded Fang of something else. He hadn't seen a single blade of grass in the arena.

It's very calm, and Fang feels almost safe. These animals are huge, much bigger than him. When one of them rears up, it's about nine feet tall. Nothing would attack something this size. The birds are chirping, the lizard things are making weird noises at one another, and the sun is shining. All is good.

There's a different bird call. More screechy than the others. Fang wonders what this is.

His companions seem to panic at this noise. They grow a bit more restless, their calls becoming more urgent.

The source of the screeching bird does not reveal itself for the next few minutes. Probably went away, Fang thinks. The animals calm down, going back to browsing and ambling along. Nonetheless, Fang keeps a tight grip on his weapon.

There's a rustle from the side. Suddenly, all around the herd, screeching animals leap out.

They're a gray, like Fang's companions, with darker stripes as well, but paler in general. A heck of a lot more agile, their tails are long, slender, and stiff. They look roughly lizardlike as well, but balance on their hind legs and are covered in feathers. Their front limbs curl close to their bodies, and when they flex their arms, big curved claws are shown off. An even bigger claw is on each of their hind feet.

Intelligent yellow eyes gleaming, they snap their jaws and launch themselves at one of Fang's lizards.

It's chaos. There's no sort of order to the attack except for the one rule- attack the prey and try to kill it. Slashing with foreclaws, biting with their sharp teeth, and some of them are trying to eat the animal's face off and claw at its throat.

The placid lizards are panicking, running away from the attacked member. It moans in agony, and Fang (while running with the rest of his lizards) sees that despite its pain, it can fight.

Of course, the feathered animals aren't incompetent either. When the big lizard swings its enormous tail at a feathered animal, it's a quick swing, but the feathered one ducks like a ninja, leaping for its prey when the tail has passed over its head.

Things take a turn for the worse when one of the feathered lizards spots tiny (compared to his lizards) Fang.

"Shit," Fang mutters when the feathered animal alights in front of him. It tilts its head at him, making a growling chirp. Recognition flares in its eyes and it jumps incredibly high.

Fang dances out of the way, slashing with his machete, but his opponent is far too fast. Ducking, it hisses, throwing out a forelimb.

The claws catch on Fang's leg and they leave a trail of bright red. Wincing at the pain, Fang looks up. The screeching animal is the last thing he sees.

* * *

"We can't take a strategy like this for much longer. We gotta be aggressive soon, Ange."

"We're hunting tonight?"

"Yep."

The pair look up, startled, at the sound of a cannon. "I wonder who that was for," Angel muses.

Gazzy shrugs. "One less person to worry about."

"I guess." Angel is unconvinced. She turns back towards her brother. "Who'll we hunt tonight, then?"

"Hm…" Gazzy has to think for a moment. Finally, he says, "How about that blond boy from Four?"

"Gaz, he's a lot bigger and older than us," Angel worries, "It probably wouldn't turn out good."

Blue eyes gleaming, Gazzy says, "But he's injured."

"Injured?"

"Yeah, I saw at the beginning at the Cornucopia that Toria kicked him. Hard." Gazzy grins. It's not as hostile as Toria's, although there is a certain amount of mischief in it. "And since his picture hasn't shown up yet…"

"He's curled up somewhere, vulnerable and hurt and weak." Angel can see that his plan is brilliant. Of course, there's one little thing in the way that she can see, but she's fairly sure that issue will resolve itself. "Excellent. Let's go."

Gazzy smiles, grabbing his spear while Angel gets a knife. Angel twiddles with it nervously as they walk around. It's dark, nighttime now. Almost time for the death call, maybe an hour away.

"Gazzy," Angel says in a small voice, "I'm scared."

Opening his arms, Gazzy knows she'll come into them to give him a hug. She does, and he hugs her back comfortingly. "I know," he soothes her, "But everything will be all right."

"I hope so," Angel whispers, her eyes glinting with something other than worry or love for her brother. She hugs him tighter.

* * *

That night, there are many pictures in the sky. Riley. Kevin and Nudge, meaning District Five's tributes are gone. Ty. Fang clears out Seven's. And finally, a blond boy.

That is it. The sky goes dark.


	14. Slash and Dash

"I hate this, I hate this, I hate this," Max chants over and over. She's running through the woods at a breakneck speed. She may have been blindingly fast now, rivaling even Toria's short sprints, but her pursuers are even faster.

Max has a bit of a head start, though. Maybe a hundred yards, tops, at first. Then the reddish feathered lizards had spotted her. Now, they jog about twenty yards behind her, and they were gaining. Max has the impression that they're conserving their strength. It's obvious, however, that the animals are not going as fast as they were to start with.

Assuming they're like the tree-hoppers, with quick bursts of speed but not that much stamina, Max can outrun them. She is breathing hard, like usual when she runs, but she can keep this up for a while. It's hotter, or at least a lot more humid, than back home, so that might not work in her favor.

There! Up ahead, Max sees a tree! Not just any tree, one with good low branches, excellent for a quick escape. She's never seen the six-foot tall feathered lizards climb, they must be too heavy. Forcing herself even faster, to a chirp of surprise and indignation from the lizards, she jumps high and far, grabbing onto a branch and climbing as fast as she can.

Just in time, too. She's twenty feet in the air when the creatures arrive at the base of her tree. Calling to one another, the green-eyed one, the Alpha, Max thinks, peers up the tree. It clacks its jaws, tapping the curved claw on its hind feet to the ground. It thinks, Max realizes with a start. They're intelligent, they problem-solve, they're perfect killing machines.

Suddenly, its nostrils flare. Sniffing more deeply, it bends towards the trunk. With a jolt, it jumps back, giving little caws to the rest of its pack. Responding with similar calls, the group dashes away, leaving Max in her tree.

Mightily confused, Max doesn't dare to come down for several minutes. Opening her pack, she finds and eats a pack of crackers she found. When the feathered lizards don't reappear, she jumps to the ground, cautiously looking around.

She lost her sword in the chase, having dropped it lighten her weight. Maybe she should've kept a hold on it and used it to defend herself. Whatever the reddish animals had smelled, it had freaked them out.

Probably nothing, she thinks. They seemed lightweight, birdlike, breakable. Anything bigger than them could snap them like a twig. Max, on the other hand, was strong and smarter, though unarmed. Changing that last fact, she breaks off a sizable branch for a club.

She gives it an experimental swing. Good. Well balanced and strong.

"Alright!" she yells, "Come and get me now! See how you fare!"

Silence. A green bird flutters down and chirps at Max.

"Hello there, little guy." She smiles at the animal. She's always had a fondness for birds. Trix must know that. That's why she gave Max the feathered necklace.

"You lived here a while?" she asks the bird, who doesn't respond. "What do you think of us tributes? There's only… five of us left." The number is so small. So, so small. That means that she's so very likely to get home.

Who's left… Her, of course. She doesn't have to fight herself for the crown.

Iggy, who was injured at the Cornucopia by Toria. She's surprised he hasn't been picked off yet. Broken ribs are a pain to run with.

Angel, the younger of the siblings. She's smart and probably armed. Max wonders what happened to her sibling.

Hazel. Max really can't see Hazel winning in a fight against Toria if those two are the only ones left. Sure, she may be an amazing shot with a bow, but her common sense is on the lower end of the scale and she acts rather scatterbrained sometimes.

Toria is definitely the biggest problem. She reminds Max of those feathered lizards strongly. Intelligent, agile, quick, a perfect killing machine. Worst of all, she dislikes Max quite a lot. Undoubtedly, she's armed.

Max, on the other hand, except for her club…

With that in mind, Max starts to head for where she thinks the grassland and Cornucopia are. There, she can pick up a sword or two and actually have a shot with winning in a fight against Toria.

As she passes through the trees, she notes something strange. Occasionally, there are marks in the wood, like scratches. Scratches from what? The red lizards? But… weren't there some of these marks on the tree Max was in?

Maybe that was what had made the feathered lizards panic…

Ah well. Whatever had made those marks has not discovered Max yet. The claws looked too low and too big for the sail-backed animal to have made them. Its tiny little arms couldn't reach the height. And the feathered lizards… Well, the marks were too small for their claws, and besides- why would they freak out at their own scratches?

This isn't making much sense to Max. Either way, she continues to head in the direction she thought the Cornucopia is in. She'll eventually get there- hell, if she can just make it into the grassland her chances of survival are greatly increased. That's _her_ territory out there. She just needs to find it.

Territory. Territory. Something about that word makes her think harder. Scratch marks…. Territory… Oh! The animals ran away because the scratch marks show another animal's territory! And if they were afraid… Max dearly hopes she won't encounter those animals.

There's a noise up ahead, like coniferous needles rustling or the ferns being stepped on. Max grows alert. Something is there. The owner of the territory?

Walking more carefully now, Max slides herself around a tree cautiously. She does not want to meet whatever it is.

A flash of silver and brown. Max is jerked back as her shirtsleeve, near the wrist, is pinned to the tree by an arrow.

An arrow. Hazel. And where there's Hazel…

Several yards in front of Max, Toria alights from the tree, pleasantly smiling at Max. Max tries to wrench the arrow out of the tree, to free herself, but it's buried incredibly deeply. She tugs her shirt. The material is too strong to be ripped.

"Ah, Maximum. So we meet again." Toria paces ever so slowly towards her. She knows she has the advantage here. "You look like you've fared well."

Toria looks like she's encountered trouble in the arena. A deep gash marks one side of her face. There are various rips and tears in her shirt. She's tied the bottom of it up to expose her stomach and a bad bruise on one side of her hip. Many small bruises and slices mark her arms and legs, the usual marks from tree-hopping.

Max stops struggling. Her hand holding the club was the one pinned down, and the impact had forced the branch from her hand. "You don't," she remarks bluntly.

Breaking into a grin, Toria stops just out of kicking range. "Well, pardon me for being able to survive." The fact that Max knew that she was armed was made worse by the sight of Toria now. Not badly injured by the looks of things and absolutely _bristling_ with knives.

With drawn-out movements, Toria unsheathes a curved blade. Twirling it in her left hand, she examines it for a moment before giving Max a sideways glance. She moves incredibly fast, slamming Max's upper left arm, the arm not pinned to the tree, into the bark.

Toria may be much shorter than Max, but she's very, very strong for her size. She forces Max down, putting Max right at her eye level. With her knees bent in an uncomfortable way, her right arm pinned to the tree by an arrow above her head and the other being gripped tightly by Toria, she can't fight back.

Her tongue ever so slightly licks her lips in anticipation. Her hazel eyes glint into Max's brown ones. Toria observes her prey carefully, watching for any signs of a fight.

Head tilting to the right a bit, Toria opens her mouth, as if to say something. She pauses for a moment like that, smiling and showing her teeth. Then she says, "Tell you what, sweetie, I'll make it quick."

Chills run up and down Max's spine. She is going to die. Toria's already given the audience a show- she has no use to keep Max alive any longer. Toria stops twirling her knife, moving closer to Max, intent on seeing blood spill.

Suddenly, Toria stops. Her eyes widen in surprise. Max isn't sure what's happening. Then, it hits her as she hears something. Toria's listening.

It's a fast paced crunching noise. Like several quick animals are running through the ferns.

Toria leaps onto Max's shoulders, using her as a step to get into the tree. "Aw, shit," Toria swears, talking to Hazel, "They're back!"

Max tugs on the arrow hard. Jerking her right arm, with a rip, the shirtsleeve tears away. Hazel replies from above Max, "We shouldn't have eaten their friend!"

"Well, they want revenge now," Toria snaps back, "Now run! Or fly! Whatever!"

The fast-paced noise of tree-hopping goes into the distance. Max's life has been spared for now. But whatever these things are, she should probably get into the tree and safely away.

Taking Hazel's lesson to mind yet again, Max hauls herself up the tree. Just in time, too. She's about ten feet off the ground, finally safe on a branch, when the animals arrive.

They look like smaller versions of the reddish feathered lizards Max was chased by earlier, but blue-gray. These look more like three or four feet tall instead of six. Darker stripes mark the six of them.

They seem less organized than the bigger animals. Occasionally snapping at each other, they caw and sniff the ground where Max just was. She holds her breath as they peer up the tree trunk to look her straight in the eyes.

Max hopes they can't climb like their bigger, redder versions. Hopefully not. Please no. Just to be safe, Max climbs another five feet up. Peering down, the animals pad around the tree, unsure of what to do. Prey is in the tree- how do they get it?

One of them gets an idea. Leaping as high as it can, which is the very high height of eight feet, it grabs onto the trunk with its front claws. That curved hind claw digs into the tree, gripping like a cat's claw. It caws with its success.

The other animals follow the leader's example. The first animal claws its way up until it stands on a branch.

Max's breath catches. _Crap_. This isn't good. At _all_. The first creature is soon joined by its pack, and it leaps onto Max's branch. Hopping on its hind limbs, it's perfectly balanced, what with its long, stiff tail.

With a screech, it leaps at Max. Max kicks it in the chest, throwing it backwards. The animal lands on its feet on another branch, making a growling noise.

Shrieking, the rest of the animals descend on Max. She punches and kicks, connecting with feathered flesh each time. She's not going down without a fight.

But the animals are too fast, too persistent, too well-armed. A talon slices open Max's cheek and hot blood spills out. Teeth, fastened onto her forearm, rip flesh away. Max cries out in pain as they rip and tear her to pieces. One animal takes her lower leg in its jaws, avoiding her kicks, and bites down, _hard_. With a snap, it breaks.

Screaming now, Max knows she won't make it out alive. But they won't just kill her!

One of the lizards grabs her upper arm in its teeth and bites. With red staining its teeth, it pulls a chunk of muscle away and starts to eat. Max is sobbing by this point. Just kill her already! Save her from the pain, oh God, the pain…

They make quick pecks at her belly and chest. One rips a piece of skin away from her belly. Max wails in pain. It's intensified by the fact that the first animal, distinguishable by its unique head marking, jumps on her belly, driving the breath out of her.

Sight blurred by tears and pain, Max sees a blue-gray head grow closer to her throat. Jaws opening, it takes her neck almost delicately in its teeth before clamping them shut. Blessed darkness takes away her pain.


	15. Final Countdown

Hazel stirs in her sleep. Her foot slightly shifts the bow resting beside her. The noise makes Toria give her a slightly wary glance, but when nothing happens, she turns her attention back to the horizon. Dawn will be soon. The first streaks of a lighter color are appearing.

Sitting on a tree limb, watching the sun rise- this reminds Toria of home. She'd do this most days with her sisters sitting on either side of her. None of them are really morning people- Bry likes the fully day lit times, Toria prefers to move at night, making morning a bad time to be awake, and Rosie- well, Rosie rarely ever voices an opinion, instead choosing to scowl at the world. But they tried to do it anyway.

She fingers her wristband. The familiar star-knife-knife-star pattern greets her. It soothes her anxiety. She doesn't know what'll happen. She isn't sure who would win if it came down to fight between her and Hazel- Hazel's bow is faster, but Toria's reflexes and thinking are quick as well.

The other two remaining… Toria's shocked they've made it this far. She knows how hard she'd kicked the Four boy, hard enough to snap his ribs. And the Two girl- she's just twelve.

Yes, it's about a sixty-forty chance of Toria getting home. To her sisters. That's all she wants. Toria's face twists into a grin as she flips her band inside out, to see the picture of her and her sisters. "Rosie, Bry," she says softly, "I'll make it back. For you guys."

Behind her, Hazel moves a bit. Yawning and stretching, she sits up sleepily. "Tori'?" she asks, "You 'wake 'lread-ey?" She yawns again, sleep slurring her words.

"Obviously." Toria tosses Hazel's pack at her. Hazel watches it go past and hit a branch before dropping onto hers. Only then does the black-haired girl pick it up.

"So, what're we going to do today?" Hazel starts to get up, leaning against the trunk of the tree. Her eyes are still heavy with sleep. She's not a person to wake up easily.

"Try not to die."

"That's a good idea…" Hazel murmurs.

"How about we go after the Two girl, then we try to find the Four boy? He's injured, he might die before we get to him, but there's something about that girl I don't like…" Toria is uneasy about her, despite her age. Something in those blue eyes…

Hazel nods in agreement. She doesn't mention what will happen if both of their opponents are killed, but a shadow in her eyes means that she knows what will happen and is thinking about it.

Toria stretches backwards, her muscles stiff from keeping watch. Even the hot and humid climate of the arena can't keep them supple without use. "Come on," she says, "Let's go hunting."

* * *

"Erm, Toria? Do you- do you even know where to find any of these guys?" Hazel stutters a bit when she cracks a bit of bark off by accident. The two of them are leaping through the trees at a leisurely pace.

Toria pauses on a branch to think for a moment. "Nope," she says with a grin, "We'll make it up as we go along. 'Tis the best plan."

"Whatever you say, Toria…"

A silvery flash ahead makes Toria perk up. A gift? For _her_? Oh boy! She speeds up her pace, ignoring Hazel's cries of "Wait! Please!"

Her eyes focusing on the parachute, Toria launches herself off a limb that was tilted at an upwards angle. She catches the silvery silk midjump and lands, poised perfectly on her toes. Hazel scrambles after her.

"Toria, is that a…" Hazel is not sure whether to laugh or be more baffled than anything else. There, being stared at by Toria's grinning face, is a boot. The very same boot that Toria seemed to love during the parade.

"Yup. Sure is."

"And why…"

"How the hell am I supposed to know?" Toria lets out a low chuckle. "Still, this is… an unusual gift, but nonetheless, its giver must be thanked." Toria turns her face towards the sky, waving the boot. "Thanks!"

With that said, she flounces off, Hazel trailing behind her. Every so often, the streaky-haired girl stops to give the forest floor a careful look. Hazel knows what she's looking for- tracks. Broken ferns, some dropped food, a path that looks like it was not made by one of the normal animals of the arena…

Eventually, Toria finds something. A trail, a thin one, leading towards the fern prairie where the Games began.

"Bingo," she says softly, a slight grin spreading across her face.

"Is that the way the girl went?" Hazel asks.

Toria nods. "I think so."

The two start to walk off, on the ground for once. They're every bit as alert here as they are in the trees, if not even more so. The farther they walk, the taller and thicker the ferns get. Hazel nearly runs into a tree because she couldn't see it through the undergrowth.

"Hm," she wonders, "Is it just me, or do you not remember this part, Toria?"

"We've never explored this part, Haze," Toria explains. Sick of the ferns, she takes out her biggest, longest straight knife- practically a dirk in regards to size- and starts swiping at them with vicious strokes. They catch on the knife, and Toria swears violently as she pulls it free before hacking at them again.

Hazel, who is close behind, nearly runs into Toria when the girl ahead suddenly stops in her tracks. "Toria, what's going on-" She's cut off by Toria placing her hand over her mouth.

"Shh," she murmurs, eyes fixed on something ahead. "Hazel," she starts, very, very quietly, "Get back to a tree. Climb up it. And whatever you do, don't make a racket."

Hazel dearly wants to question this, but a quick peek around Toria gives her motivation to follow orders. It's one of the reddish feathered lizards, asleep. But from the look of its rate of breathing, it won't be asleep much longer.

Very carefully, Hazel creeps back to a tree. Climbing it, she sees that Toria is also slowly backing away.

The animal stirs awake, blinking its green eyes sleepily around. This isn't just any of the feathered lizards- this is the Alpha.

Its nostrils flare and it pulls itself into a standing position. Its jaws open slightly as it tastes the air, and it moves at a quick rate towards Toria.

"Oh no…" Hazel, safely in a tree, is forced to watch. She has the best view.

Toria knows what's coming. She can see the head of her enemy coming. Its following her scent. Toria knows that much. Whether she'll be able to lose the animal or not depends on a well-thought-out plan and injuring the thing, as well as swimming in the river. She doesn't think it's too far away.

Toria has no plan. Doesn't matter to her. Plans usually fail anyway.

Turning on a dime, she sprints through the ferns as fast as she can. The thick ferns ensnarl her feet and make running difficult, but for the feathered lizard it's even harder to do so. It snarls at her, a deep, feral thing.

Toria still runs as fast as she can. Overhead, Hazel follows, wanting to watch. She senses that this isn't her battle, and that if she interferes, Toria would probably kill her in rage for ruining her fun.

Eventually, Toria reaches a small clearing. She stops for a slight breather when the animal charges through, growling. It's teeth are bared in a snarl. Toria responds by laughing slightly. "So this is how it's going to go, eh, featherbrain?"

She herself bares her teeth in a fearsome grin. It somehow echoes that of the creature's. Both have a primal element to them, both of them look ready to kill.

The pair circle each other, poses mirroring. On her toes, leaned slightly forward, with knees bent and a knife in one hand and the boot in the other is Toria. The animal's position is very similar, minus the boot.

Suddenly, the tension snaps as the animal launches itself at Toria.

The girl backflips out of the way, raking the animal's cheek with her knife. Without a second thought, she moves forward, stabbing into the flesh of the animal. The feathered lizard shrieks at the dagger biting into its shoulder before it itself bites Toria.

Yelling, she kicks the animal across the snout. It releases her, shaking its head to clear it from the blow it just received. Toria pulls the knife out and dances out of the way.

The feathered lizard takes a few steps back, bends down a bit, and spreads its forearms in a fearsome gesture. It opens its mouth to hiss at Toria. She, bleeding rather badly from the bite in her arm, instinctively realizes what's going to happen. As the thing leaps, she rolls forward.

Landing on her feet as does the animal that missed, she twists around and slashes at the tail, still with the dagger. With the addition of this wound, the animal screeches and backs away a bit, turning away from Toria.

The blood is pouring profusely from the shoulder injury. Toria's entire bitten arm is soaked in blood. Neither of them wishes to give up their fight now.

They throw themselves at each other again, the slashing style that they share looking almost like a dance. As the animal claws at her with a giant toeclaw, Toria swirls away and nicks the animal's neck. Over and over again they inflict injuries on each other.

Toria looks about ready to faint from blood loss when the animal finally sways on its feet. It still summons one last effort and flies into the air, aiming for the girl.

Toria lets it come closer and closer before just getting out of the way of the hind claws. Its forelimbs still rake her sides. However, Toria gets the final blow. Stabbing the boot forward with all of her strength, she pushes the creature over and hits a major artery as well as an airway.

The animal twitches on the ground for a few moments, blood still spilling out around it. Little feathers decorate the puddle. Finally, it goes still, green eyes still staring up defiantly.

But, in some cruel twist of fate, after her long fight, Toria herself falls to the ground.

She's still bleeding. Both hers and the animal's weapons were designed to rip and tear and make the prey die of blood loss. Both of them succeed.

She's weakening. Toria knows that she won't make it out now. But with what little bit of strength she has left, she lifts her hand and strokes her dead foe's head. It's beautiful, even in death and after it hurt her beyond repair.

Their blood mingling on the forest floor, Toria lets her hand linger on the animal's cheek. Her vision is starting to fade and she can feel her grip on the world weakening quickly. Drawing in a painful breath, Toria grins for the final time as something clicks in her brain.

She rasps, "I know… what you are…"

* * *

Hazel backs away from the scene, eyes wide with shock. The sound of a cannon makes her nearly fall off the branch.

It can't be.

Toria…

_Dead_?

No. No. No no no no no no… This wasn't supposed to be happening!

Eyes huge with the terror and shock of having this girl die, Hazel scrambles up the branches.

Toria could never fight again. Her hazel eyes would never again gleam at the prospect of a fight. Her grin would never turn into an amused laugh. Her odd way of walking and slashing fighting style were gone now.

Almost blindly, Hazel climbs. Higher and higher into the tree she goes, until she is clinging to the thinnest and more precarious of branches. She breathes hard, staring around at the sky.

Two shapes fly towards her.

It's those giant flyers, the ones with the teeth. They reach her quickly and circle her.

Hazel tightens her grip around the trunk in terror. Don't eat me, she thinks.

Then, one of them, the bigger of the two, folds in its wings and dives at her. It shakes the branch hard, and the animal flies away, unharmed.

The second one tries this. Hazel whimpers as it snaps at her back.

The bigger one dives at the tree again. It catches her shirt in its teeth and pulls her away from the trunk. Hazel's limbs flail as she tries to grab onto something, _anything_.

She crashes through the branches onto the forest floor.

* * *

Iggy's head jolts up in surprise at the sound of the cannon. Second one today. The first one was mere moments before…

Nonetheless, it is important. He is in the final two… he could actually get home!

Unless neither of the cannons were for Toria.

Iggy had been holed up in the tree since the start of the Games, getting down only occasionally to scavenge and explore. His broken ribs hurt far too much for any activity beyond this, and even then it was painful.

A little detail nags the back of Iggy's mind, some important thing. What happened in the final two? For all he knows, he and the remaining girl could be miles apart…

His question is quite quickly answered when an unfortunately familiar roar sounds nearby.

"Shit," he mutters, climbing down oh-so-carefully. Trying to ignore his throbbing ribs, he runs as fast as he can away from the noise.

He doesn't go more than a few steps before a crashing noise alerted him to the giant animal with the ridge on its back. It roars at him before starting to give chase.

Iggy runs blindly through the forest. He has no idea where to go to avoid a ridgeback. It's pure luck- or some Gamemaker trick- when he runs straight into a herd of the bluey-gray lizardy things.

The ridgeback instantly forgets about him and goes roaring after the other animals. After they've gone away, Iggy is aware of the prickling feeling of being watched.

He looks up to see Angel standing, quite calmly, and staring at him. Her hair is tangled and a line of bruises and cuts marks up and down her arms, but her blue eyes are clear and sharp as she stares at him. She appears to have suffered only minor injuries in the arena.

"Hi, Iggy." She's quite friendly as she trots closer.

He gives her a casual nod. "Hey, Angel. What happened to Gazzy?"

Angel stops in her tracks, a shadow passing over her face. "I'd rather not talk about it," she says in a clipped tone.

Iggy nods. He doesn't see any weapons on Angel, which is reassuring. He may be unarmed as well, but he was a helluva lot bigger and stronger than her. If it came down to a fight (which was inevitable, considering the nature of the Games), he would be the winner.

"So…" The atmosphere is awkward, to say the least. "What are you going to do, Angel? You gonna kill me?"

"If I don't, something else will," she points out. By now, she's right in front of him, staring him straight in the eyes. She paces slowly. "That monster, lack of food, dehydration, sickness, injury, old age. We all die in the end, Iggy. It just depends on how fast one wishes to go."

She has a point. "True, Angel."

She chuckles. It's an oddly dark sound from a little girl. "I know. I'm always right."

Suddenly, a knife is at his throat and she is hissing in his ear. "And I _always_ win."

* * *

All across the nation that night, viewers are shocked that a little twelve year-old had won. The angelic smile that she flashes the camera while the trumpets announce her victory does not quite reach the cold calculating look in her blue eyes.


	16. The Plot Wraptor

AN: Final chapter :) It's finally done.

I shall explain more at the end. For now, however…

* * *

Angel twists around, examining herself in the mirror. It's merely a couple days since she was pulled from the arena. She hadn't needed that much time to recover, really. Her skin is flawless by now and her golden locks are back to perfection. Lovely.

Her stylist has dressed her in a simple outfit. It's a pure white dress that reaches her knees. Ballet flats of a soft golden color are on her feet. Perfect. She looks like what her name suggests.

"Hey kid." The voice of Crim makes her turn around. She smiles at him sweetly. He seems to ignore this and instead continues on with, "We're going on in five minutes. I hope you're ready."

Angel nods. "Of course I am. You going to be out there with Livy tonight?"

"Yeah. Good luck out there, by the way."

Angel goes back to admiring herself in the mirror while Crim heads off. Her smile remains on her face. She's easily one of the youngest victors of the Games- that'll undoubtedly come up in the interview later. That'll be nice… Angel is also rather curious about how some of the stronger contestants, like Max and Toria, died. She didn't see them go down, but the three-hour-long presentation of Games should give her a good idea of what happened.

Music starts to blare from overhead. The show is starting. Angel waits in the wings, watching the proceedings onstage from a hidden spot from the audience.

"Hey-lo, ladies and gentlemen!" Livy is once again in her element, waving at the audience with a big grin on her face. Her cream-colored dress whooshes around as she twirls and bows. Beside her, Crim isn't wearing pure red (for once). Just a black suit with a wine-colored shirt and black tie.

"So, I suppose you've all seen the Hunger Games as of late?" Livy smiles at the audience, stopping her spinning. At the sound of loud cheers, she continues with, "Okay, okay, calm down. For now," she adds.

Crim takes over with, "So, before anything else, I say that we give the Gamemakers a huge round of applause for their work on the creatures this year!"

While thunderous applause batters Angel's ears, Livy mutters to Crim, "That's counterproductive. I was trying to _calm_ them down."

He shrugs in response, grinning like an idiot. Usually, this role of irritating each other is reversed. Crim is enjoying this turn of events.

"Fine," he gives in to Livy's annoyed blue gaze, "You can rile them up now."

"Thank you, Oh Mighty Red One." Livy pecks Crim on the cheek before sweeping an arm towards Angel's hiding place. "And now, without any further ado, Angel, winner of this year's Hunger Games!"

That's her cue. Angel trots out onto stage, acknowledging the cheers with a wave and a curtsey once she reaches Livy. She nods to the purple-haired girl, a smile on her face. Livy grins back at her. Angel can't help but wonder if she's the slightest bit scared to be around a killer. If she is, she doesn't show it.

After the cheering dies down a bit, Livy directs Angel to the chair from which she'll watch the highlights of the Games. Livy herself plops herself down on a small couch, leaning on Crim (meaning he's being used as an armrest).

"So, Angel," Livy starts, "You ready to see the Games?"

"Of course!"

"DIM THE LIGHTS!" Livy nearly blows out Crim's eardrums with her shout.

The walls are lined with massive screens. The imaginative title of 'The Hunger Games' blazes up on them before they fade away.

The first image of the Games is not actually in the Games- instead, it shows the volcanoes of District One. They're as primal looking as the arena. From there, it covers pre-game events- the reapings, the chariot rides, even a clip of Toria loving on her boot. Snickers are common as the interviews are briefly covered. Angel examines her technique with the hula hoop.

From there, it's a short amount of time before the camera follows a tribute up into the arena. Angel sees the place laid out in a breathtaking aerial shot. She hadn't been able to get a good look at it from the ground.

It was in a valley, with a huge river flowing down from one of the surrounding mountains. Angel remembers seeing that river. There was a grassland (or, more accurately, fernland) at the center, with coniferous forests surrounding it. In the northeast, there was a dried lakebed that Angel never remembers seeing.

A roar comes. The ridgebacked animal. Fresh fear courses through her veins. That was one of the animals that she had to run and hide from and pray that it wouldn't find her. There would've been no chance of her fighting that insanely big and agile predator.

She had been smart, she reflects, watching as she grabs her brother's hand and races into the forest, away from the roar. Meanwhile, back at the pile, Toria and Hazel start looting. They, as well as Raven, Ty, and Twila, are the only ones there. There is apparently no reason for them to fight until Raven tries to strangle Ty.

Angel winces at the snap of her neck. She's glad she wasn't around to see that.

When Ty finally wrenches her off and flees for the trees, taking supplies and a sword with him, only Twila is left on the pile. She's painfully indecisive. A quick shot shows that Toria and Hazel are safely in a tree when the ridgeback comes bursting out with a mighty roar.

It's incredibly loud and Twila's scream of panic slices through it nonetheless. Angel sits, frozen in her seat, as she watches the little girl get eaten. That's two people down, she notes.

From there, there's an apparent small time skip. Toria and Hazel seem to be lazily swinging through the trees. Hazel uses her arms more than Toria. The pair stop, staring down at something in a clearing. "What the hell is that?" Toria asks onscreen, prompting laughs from the audience.

Livy decides to answer Toria. "It's a carrot that came from the moon to take over Djibouti. What do you think it is, half-wit? What are you doing?" The last part is yelled because Toria decides to throw a branch at one of the lizards to see if it was alive.

"Ruh-roh," Hazel comments as a very pissed-off feathered lizard wakes up and spots them in the tree.

It abruptly cuts away to a shot of Ty walking through the woods. Footsteps are coming from behind him, and he twists around to see Brandle, armed with a sword. Angel, watching, has a feeling that the next few minutes will be disorienting as it'll be swapped between shots of Toria's new friends and the battle between Ty and Brandle.

"Looks like you found me," Brandle says shortly before charging at Ty, sword raised. Turns out Ty wasn't a bad fighter- he landed several blows, darting out of the way before Brandle could hit him himself. Contrary to Angel's predictions, no shots of Toria, Hazel, and the animals came up.

The fight was quick. A cheer goes up when Ty stabs Brandle through the heart, killing him to the sound of a cannon.

With that done, Ty shakes the blood off his blade and continues walking.

Livy gives a caption of sorts when it cuts back to Toria and Hazel's… adventures. "Meanwhile, back at the ranch…"

Toria and Hazel are almost blurs as they race through the trees. Angel can see that they can't climb very high here- the trees are too small for that. The animals race alongside them, trying to catch them.

Toria is busily swearing, pausing in her stream of vulgarity to ask Hazel, "Why did I do that again?"

Panting, Hazel doesn't even look at Toria, instead flashing a glance down at the creatures in pursuit. "And you think I'm stupid," she says, avoiding the question.

The camera finally pans so that Angel gets a good look at the lizards. Covered in reddish brown feathers, they have a similar shape of a lizard, but they're almost more… birdlike…

A birdy walk, like Toria's, feathers, more of a birdish sound to the calls they make, an intelligent avian gleam in their eyes… No, Angel thinks, these aren't merely feathered lizards. They're more like lizard-shaped birds.

Toria mutters under her breath, "Frick." Angel perks up. What would Toria do?

A quick shot of above shows another reason why the girls can't go higher; Two enormous flying things circle overhead. The sunlight gleams off their teeth.

"Yeesh," Crim remarks. He obviously doesn't like these things.

Livy pats his knees. "Don't worry, I'll fight 'em off for you if they come for you."

As Toria spits "Damnit!", a rather energetic bird-lizard jumps up. Toria uses the branch she was already grabbing to do a graceful kick to its muzzle. "Screw this!" she suddenly yells, landing on the branch. "We're going to have to fight out way out of this." These words are made more terrifying by the fact that Toria's face splits into a grin and she grabs a knife.

As Toria is all prepped up for a fight, Hazel drops down onto her branch. The animals change tactic in response to their altered one. Toria swears again when they start to surround the tree. "They can think," she realizes at the same time as the audience.

She tosses a knife for Hazel to use, but, after a brief spat over whether the black-haired girl should use that or her arrows, takes it back. Angel is beginning to think that the Gamemakers found Toria very entertaining. Usually they'd have shown more tributes by now, but Toria is the only focus here. Her and her crazy grin.

With a whirl, Toria suddenly kicks a lizard Angel hadn't spotted in the head, slicing it across the neck with a knife. Shrieking and losing a few feathers, the animal falls backwards. It lands on the ground with a thump, bleeding only slightly. "Damn," Toria swears yet again.

Another lizard tries to bite Hazel while the girl is struggling to get her arrow on the bowstring. No wonder- she's kicking at the animals while doing so. Toria throws the knife, opening up a thin cut on the top of the animal's head. It, too, falls, letting out a hawk's scream.

It's hurt when it lands. Its pack stops the attack to nuzzle it comfortingly. Aw, Angel thinks, they really do love each other.

Well, that turns out to be a problem when the slender, green-eyed animal turns and hisses at Toria. It runs _up_ the trunk, landing lightly on Toria's branch. The spiky-haired girl's eyes darkened and a manic grin spreads across her face. "Houston, we have a problem," she quotes, grabbing a pair of straight knives. "Let's roll, featherbrain."

Hazel, being much smarter than Toria, in Angel's opinion, gets out of the way.

The animal and the girl leap at each other. It becomes an elegant, slashing dance, Toria jumping and flipping and dodging but the creature flexing its powerfully muscled body out of the way as well. Eventually, Toria is able to shove the bigger animal off the branch with a spin kick. "Can't kill me, can you?" she practically purrs at the furious creature.

She turns and grins at Hazel. "That was fun," she says.

Angel nods at this. Yup. Toria definitely tops her crazy list. Thank goodness she's dead now.

The view switches to Nudge. Angel feels a little stab of sadness that this cheerful girl had to die. She had liked Nudge.

Nudge seems fairly well off, trotting through the woods with a backpack. She starts running at the sound of running water… then faster and more panicked upon hearing footsteps. She manages to climb up a tree in time to safely observe those same feathered lizards trot by underneath.

The green-eyed leader stops suddenly, sniffing the air around Nudge's tree carefully. It perks up and, calling to the other members of the pack, races away. After a cautious and quiet minute, Nudge clambers down and follows after them.

Crim stands up, shaking Livy out of her doze on his shoulder, and taps a screen. "Surely I'm not the only one who thinks this is a really stupid move?"

A chorus of, "No" s from the audience answers him as he goes to sit back down.

Focusing on the screen once more, Angel watches as Nudge climbs another tree. The camera stays focused on her face, not showing the audience what she is seeing that making her go up again. Finally, once she's settled, it turns around.

Angel is awed by the sheer size of these animals. Huge, long-necked beasties, with smooth tan skin speckled with darker brown spots. A girl, padding carefully between them, is dwarfed by them. Leah.

Despite their size, the animals move with an odd sort of elegance. She decides that she likes these creatures.

The camera randomly focuses on a bunch of dried, reddish brown ferns. Suddenly, the ferns move. Rather, a part of the ferns move. Angel realizes that they're not ferns… they're the lizards. They slowly stalk the long-necks until one of them bursts out, screeching like a fiend towards one of the animals.

Leah gets the shock of her life and goes with the rest of the long-necks as they flee. Behind her, an epic struggle is taking place between the lizards and the long-neck. The lizards are winning, despite their smaller size.

Eventually, the long-neck falls to the ground, dead. As the bloodied lizards bend down to eat, there's a heavy thumping noise as the living long-necks turn away from their escape route.

The ridgeback is right on their tails (literally). It's distracted by Leah and snatches her up, killing her with a cannon boom and a single bite. Upon seeing the dead long-neck, though, it drops her. A hovercraft immediately picks her body up.

The ridgeback makes its way towards the dead prey. The lizards do not like this. Shrieking, they (attempt to) roar at the ridgeback and flash their claws. When it refuses to go away, they attack.

Angel has to admire their bravery. This ridgeback is much bigger than them, yet they continue to attack ferociously. Their favorite move appears to be jump, give the animal a hug of doom, claws and all, then bite once and spring away, out of the biting radius.

It doesn't take long to drive the ridgeback away.

Something about their bravery and ferocity reminds Angel of Toria.

From there, a montage starts playing. Max walking through the forest, alone. Toria scaring Hazel by grinning in the sleeping girl's face while a bright red, eclipsed moon shines over her. Ty fingering his token. Angel keeping watch next to Gazzy, sitting on a root.

It's a little weird to watch herself onscreen.

Pretty soon, things get interesting. When Hazel falls into the river and it is obvious that she can't swim, Toria dives into the water after her. Angel questions this, pondering the answer as Toria drags the sopping-wet girl out onto the bank.

While Toria swears (as usual for her), Angel tries to figure out why she did this. Toria was from a forest District, for one thing. She shouldn't know how to swim in the first place. But why did she save Hazel? It would've been easier and less work later to just let Hazel drown.

But Toria had dove in without hesitation, ruining the food she had. She'd had an odd expression on her face right before and after, a desperation, almost. What had set her off?

The camera cuts to Toria talking to Hazel while they walk towards where Hazel said she saw something that could be food.

"So let me get this straight," Toria says, "There are more of these feathered lizards."

"Yep," Hazel replies cheerfully.

"And they're smaller, though a bit more numerous, than the other kind we encountered,"

"Definitely."

"And they're blue."

While the audience laughs, Livy protests hotly. "Those things are not blue, they're slate gray!"

Crim pats Livy on the head a bit cautiously. "Does it really matter?" he asks.

"Of course!"

The pair onscreen pick an animal out carefully. Livy comments, "Is this how they grocery shop?" She puts on a bad imitation of Toria. "'Oh, this looks like a nice weak box of cereal! Hazel, shoot it!'"

"Livy, they hunt. There are no grocery stores in the Districts," Crim reminds her.

"Right…"

Toria appears to be having fun with the little blue-gray lizards. "Shoo! Scat! Go away! This is _our_ food!"

"Do they understand English?" Livy questions.

There appears to be a time lapse onscreen before Toria is seen ravenously biting a piece of the lizard. "Tastes like chicken," she says.

The camera switches to a shot of Aley, who is calmly walking through the forest. Knives gleam on his belt. He suddenly stops, looking around. He must've heard something. Then Angel hears something- a rustling, like ferns or the tree needles.

Aley, being smart, climbs into a tree easily to better avoid whatever it is. Unfortunately, that's where Toria is. Hazel, seeing the two staring at each other, finds a slightly safer perch.

"Fancy seeing you here," Aley says with mock politeness.

"Same to you," Toria dips her head in fake respect.

"Hiding in the trees, I see. A coward, as usual. Not expecting anything else from you," Aley comments snidely.

"Oh no you didn't!" Livy imitates one of the ghetto people of old.

Crim sighs. "Not helping, Liv!"

Toria points out that Aley himself was in a tree, something that Angel was wondering about as well. Aley's pleasant face slips a bit. "As if. If I can handle you and your sister, I can handle those things."

The typical grin Toria has turns into more of a snarl. "I distinctly remember that you happened to run away from that fight, Aley," she says quietly. Dangerously.

Aley slips two long, straight knives out. "Ah, but you see, dear Toria," he chuckles, infuriating her further, "Up until that point, it was simply your lovely sister stopping me from completely winning against you."

Unsheathing another curved blade, Toria growls, "Don't. You. _Dare_ call Bry that sort of thing."

Angel has the feeling that whatever happens next, it will not be pretty.

She misses whatever Aley says next, deep in her thoughts. When she refocuses, Toria has risen on her toes, knees bent and ready for action. "You lost that right a long time ago. You lost it when you broke her heart. She may have said that you can call her whatever you want then, but trust me… you don't deserve to even look at her."

"And you're going to stop me?"

"I can. And I will."

Aley takes a leaf from Toria's book and grins. "I bet you can't."

"I bet I can." Toria gives her signature grin. The tension is palpable.

"You really think that?" Aley is tensing his muscles, ready to spring.

Toria gives him a dazzling smile. "I'll bet my life that I can beat you… bastard."

"ZING!" Livy exclaims unhelpfully.

When the pair break into their fight, Angel thinks that this is some of the finest fighting she's ever seen. Slashing and kicking and taunting, over and over again. Eventually, they get knocked from the trees and continues fighting. The audience holds a collective breath when Aley gets Toria pinned to the ground.

"Oh, is the little princess hurt?" Aley croons.

Toria slams her feet into his chest, saying, "Better a princess than a toad!"

With lightning-quick reflexes, she holds the winded boy against a tree, panting. "Now, Aley, where were we? Oh, have I gotten the upper hand?"

"You'll never win," Aley snarls, determined that it wouldn't end this way.

Toria swiftly slices his throat open, turning as his body falls to the ground. "I just did," she retorts, "That was for my sister."

"Mm-hmm," Livy goes back to her ghetto imitation, "She showed you, boy."

There's a time lapse, and a quiet clip shows Angel and Gazzy sleeping side by side. It shows outside, where the light green lizards are padding softly through the forest. A shape walks among them. Riley. A roar from close by spooks the lizards.

They start stampeding, feet trampling the ground. Riley suddenly trips, and with a scream, he falls under the feet of the lizards. Sickening crunches sound as he screams while he's trampled to death.

"That is just nasty," Livy says, still in ghetto mode.

"Will you stop that?" Crim exclaims.

"I think I'm stuck like this!" Livy panics.

The screen cuts away to show Nudge walking placidly. Nothing seems to have hurt her. But a noise from up ahead makes her hide behind a tree. It's Kevin Carr, the silent one who never made much of an impression.

He's walking as well. He's not on screen for long before an arrow shoots through his throat and he falls, dead.

Toria, always having a comment for everything and having a talent for appearing everywhere at the most inconvenient of times, jumps down, saying, "Sa-niper!"

"I thought sniper only had two syllables."

"Livy…"

"Fine, I'll shut up."

Nudge sneakily creeps backwards, away from the pair. When she steps on a twig, their focus is instantly on her. "Fancy seeing you here," Toria says, hand moving towards a knife.

Nudge turns and runs. She's lucky, as the change in direction means that Toria's thrown knife barely misses.

Toria seems a little annoyed by this, but holds out a hand towards Hazel expectantly. "Ah, we got a challenging one this time. Your bow, please."

Hazel gives her a funny look. "I didn't know you could shoot-"

"_Your bow_, Hazel."

Turns out Toria could indeed shoot, and rather well at that. With incredible speed, she loads the bow, takes aim, and lets it loose. Nudge avoids that as well. "Slippery little bugger, isn't she?" Shoving the bow back at Hazel, she says, "Let's hunt."

Nudge is very, very quick for a District Fiver. She heads for the river while Toria taunts her from the trees above with, "Oh Nudgey, won't you stay and dance?"

The dark-skinned girl shrugs off her backpack when she's in sight of the river and dives into it. Toria lands on the ground an instant too late.

"I saw her," Toria says, frustrated, "I know I did. Come out, come out, little fish…"

All is quiet for a moment. Then Toria leaps into the water, a dagger clutched in her jaws.

Toria has no idea where Nudge is, blindly paddling around. It's a huge shock to Angel when Nudge is shown to have enough courage to leap out of the river and tackle Toria from behind.

Nudge pushes Toria underwater, no doubt hoping to drown her. But Toria's incredibly strong and she eventually stuns Nudge and heads for the riverbank. Nudge follows, not about to let her get away.

However, Toria is in shallow enough water to stand now. She grabs Nudge and slams her on dry ground, pinning her down. "Good-bye, little fish," she hisses.

Angel turns away as the girl dies.

The next shot is slightly more peaceful. Ty is padding through the forest, fairly quiet. He appears deep in thought, and eventually walks onto the dried lakebed Angel saw earlier. He's limping slightly, she notes.

There's something moving in the ferns nearby. It's making a snuffing noise, and whatever it is, it's too short to appear over the grass.

Cautiously, Ty approaches the ferns. All he can see is something that's a speckled brown. Curiously, he pokes it with his sword.

The tail comes out of nowhere, and the audience jumps as it swings. Ty doesn't have the time to avoid it and is near decapitated by this tail.

"Dear Lord," Crim says, face pale as he watches the blood splatter onscreen. Livy huddles closer to him, eyes wide.

The cannon fires and the animal walks out of its cover of ferns. It's short, with stubby legs, a sturdy body, and a tiny head. Big spikes line its sides and a pair of giant ones poke out from its shoulders, followed by increasingly smaller ones.

But its tail- its tail is long and muscular. Bladelike bones or spikes line each side of the tail. When it swings it, it's obvious that it's like a living chainsaw, or a bunch of scissor blades. They fit together smoothly.

Flash to a shot of Fang, who is staring at the grayish blue lizards. Darker stripes line their spines and ribs and heavy tails swing behind them. Fang seems to like them. At his side is a machete.

He watches them graze as they amble along, following them. A cawing noise makes him look up and the animals panic.

"It's them again…" Livy mutters.

After a few moments of no attack, the herd calms down. Fang keeps a hold on his weapon, though, which pays off when the bluey-gray feathered lizards burst out from the ferns, snarling.

Of course, Livy has a "clever" remark for this, too. "The attack comes from the side…" she half-shouts.

Initially, they completely ignore Fang in favor of the bigger creatures. Fang starts to back away, looking like he might live another day until one of them spots Fang, small and helpless compared to the other lizards.

Still, when it leaps at him, Fang swings his machete with incredible speed. Shockingly, the lizards avoids it, changing its path and catching him on the leg with a clawed forelimb.

Fang drops to the side, clutching his leg. He's still upright, just a bent over. Teeth gritted with pain, he looks up to see one of the feathered animals leaping over his head. Angel knows what comes next.

It crashes into him, latching its jaws around his throat as those enormous hind claws slice through his shirt and the skin underneath. The cannon fires, and, surprisingly, the Gamemakers interfere.

A hovercraft appears, but the animal takes no notice, instead sniffing around Fang's body, about to… eat it…

A metal rod pokes out from the underside of the craft. An immense spark hits the animal, sending it screeching away. The rod retreats back into the craft and Fang's body is picked up.

"Hm, I do suppose that it'd be bad form to return the body of a tribute to the family half-eaten," Livy comments.

"Will you stop that?"

"Stop what"

Crim sighed. "We're showing the Hunger Games. You, my friend, are distracting them."

Livy rolled her eyes in an exaggerated manner. "I'm an _entertainer_, and I'm entertaining them now."

"I guess you are."

"Yay."

Angel is too focused on their little conversation that is wasn't until she looked up that she realized she was onscreen. The location she is in looked familiar…

Oh.

Angel bites her lip. She knows what happens next. She's not looking forward to the reaction.

She's talking with Gazzy about their strategy. "Yeah, I saw at the beginning at the Cornucopia that Toria kicked him. Hard," Gazzy says, grinning. "And since his picture hasn't shown up yet…"

"He's curled up somewhere, vulnerable and hurt and weak." Angel replies onscreen. "Excellent. Let's go."

The pair start walking, weapons in hand. Gazzy swings his spear by his side while Angel nervously clutches a knife. "Gazzy," Angel says after a few minutes, "I'm scared."

Gazzy opens his arms for a hug, which Angel gives. "I know," he murmurs, "But everything will be alright."

"I hope so," Angel says back. Her arms tighten around him.

Very, very quickly, her hands move, turning the knife around in her hands. Very, very quickly she drives it through her brother in the spot that will pierce his spine and his heart at once.

"Sorry, Gaz," the Angel onscreen says quietly. The fear is all gone from her stance now, and she steps back to watch as he brother falls to the ground. The cannon fires, Angel retrieves her knife, and she is on her way to victory.

Smash-cut to a video of Max dashing through the woods. Livy puts her arms around Crim and gives Angel a clearly distrustful look. It occurs to Angel that Livy is not particularly fond of her and is simply acting her lovely personality towards Angel.

The intensity of her stare makes her distinctly uncomfortable. Blue eyes meet eyes that are just as blue in the darkness as the girls stare at each other. Angel is the first one to break off the stare, hurriedly focusing her attention back on the screen.

It's a slightly awkward place to pick back up at. Toria is pinning Max to a tree, twirling a curved knife in one hand. The camera switches almost to Max's perspective. Toria is observing Max carefully, hazel eyes shining. Her head tilts slightly to the side. Toria opens her mouth, as if to say something. She pauses for a moment like that, smiling and showing her teeth. Then she says words that make Angel's blood chill.

"Tell you what, sweetie, I'll make it quick."

For some reason, Toria stops. Then, a sound reaches Angel as well. Footsteps, light and quick.

Toria uses Max as a stepstool to get into the tree. Swearing, she yells at Hazel, "They're back!"

As Max rips the arrow pinning her arm out, Hazel shouts back, "We shouldn't have eaten their friend!"

"Well, they want revenge now!" Toria says, sounding farther away. "Now run! Or fly! Whatever!"

Max decides to climb a tree as well. She's nowhere near as fast and is only ten feet off the ground when the small, grayish-blue feathered lizards arrive. They mill around in a disorganized manner, occasionally snapping at each other or hopping up and down.

Unfortunately for Max, one of them gets an idea. It launches itself at the tree, climbing it like its bigger cousins climbed prey. The curved hind claws are perfect for digging into the bark.

It eventually gets on a branch, its pack members following its example. Its yellow eyes gleam at Max as it opens its mouth to snarl. Max kicks it in the chest. This just flings the animal away to where it lands on another branch, balanced and angry.

The other members of the pack are in the tree by now. They descend on her, shrieking. As they start to rip and tear at her, Max screams. Angel looks away, sickened by the sight of blood and flesh flying and the continued screaming of Max and growling of the animals… Livy buries her face in Crim's chest, not looking, while Crim averts his eyes in favor of stroking her hair soothingly.

Finally, her screams cut off, the cannon fires, and the screen shifts to something less disturbing. Livy peeks up at the screen again.

Toria and Hazel are fighting their way through some particularly thick ferns. Toria is first in line, slashing with a long knife. Suddenly, she stops. "Hazel," she starts, very, very quietly, "Get back to a tree. Climb up it. And whatever you do, don't make a racket."

The other girl clearly wants to question this, but obeys anyway. By the time she's in a tree, Toria is carefully stepping back. Angel finally sees what was freaking her out- a feathered lizard, the reddish, giant kind.

The animal stirs awake before Toria is in a tree. Toria spins around and runs.

Combined with the ferns, her speed is making her difficult to see. The animal is very fast as well, though. It gets tangled up in some ferns, allowing Toria to have a quick breather in a slight clearing in the ferns.

The creature charges out, snarling. Toria smiles at it slightly, laughing a bit. "So this is how it's going to go, eh, featherbrain?"

The pair circle each other. At such close proximity to each other, the similarities between the two are incredible. Same birdlike gait, same slight lean forward, similar grin/baring of teeth…

Angel has a feeling that she's seen this animal before, in a book or a movie. She's not sure where, though, nor does she remember its name.

The two throw themselves at each other, screeching. Claws and blades flash, fangs and Toria's... boot stab. It's a melee of sharp weapons and speed. They're very evenly matched. The animal may be stronger, but Toria is every bit as fast and more intelligent than the animal.

After what seems like forever, after Toria stabbed it in the throat with her boot, the animal collapses and stops breathing. By some cruel twist, Toria too collapses.

She's not dead yet, and she uses her remaining strength to stroke the animal's head. Their blood mingles in a pool around them.

Toria is rapidly weakening, dying. Her hazel eyes light up one last time as if she's realized something. "I know… what you are…" she rasps with her dying breath.

The cannon fires. Up in the trees, Hazel panics apparently. She climbs high, very, very high, hysterical from the thought that Toria of all people had died.

Finally, she's clinging to a precariously thin branch high above the forest floor. Around her, the flying things circle.

They start divebombing her, pulling at her clothes and hair. She's finally loosened away from the branch, and, screaming, falls to the ground.

She won't be getting up again.

The camera switches to one of Iggy climbing down from a tree. The ridgeback roars nearby and he starts running with a limping gait.

He runs straight into the bluey-gray non-feathery lizards. The ridgeback that was chasing him switches its attention to the lizards, leaving Iggy facing Angel.

The audience is breathless, very tense.

"Hi, Iggy." Angel's greeting is friendly.

He nods back. "Hey, Angel. What happened to Gazzy?"

"I'd rather not talk about it."

"So…" The atmosphere is awkward, to say the least. "What are you going to do, Angel? You gonna kill me?"

"If I don't, something else will," she points out. By now, she's right in front of him, staring him straight in the eyes. She paces slowly. "That monster, lack of food, dehydration, sickness, injury, old age. We all die in the end, Iggy. It just depends on how fast one wishes to go."

"True, Angel."

She chuckles. It's rather dark coming from a little girl. "I know. I'm always right." Suddenly, she's a blur and she has her knife against Iggy's throat. "And I _always_ win."

She slits his throat very quickly, watching the life bleed out of him as trumpets sound, signaling that she's won.

The screen slowly goes black and the lights come back on. Now, it's time for Angel to face the questions. There won't be many, seeing as the presentation took up most the time.

"So, Angel," Livy starts things off in a lighthearted tone, "Which of those animals do you think was the coolest?"

Well, she wasn't expecting _that_. Thinking fast, Angel replies, "I think I like those slate gray feathered lizards. If they were less vicious and smaller, I think it'd be nice to have on as a pet."

Livy nods, digesting this information. "Well, I liked the red ones. They're awesome, no?" She looks to the audience for approval. "I mean, it looks like they're the right size for me to ride, you know? Wouldn't that be awesome to ride one of those guys around?"

"Don't get any ideas, Liv," Crim warns, getting a few laughs.

"I know, I know," she says, waving it away impatiently. "They killed quite a lot of people, the blues and the reds. Angel, you yourself got a few kills under your belt. So, tell me, as all of us are dying to know," Livy leans forward, looking Angel straight in the eyes again, "Why did you kill your own brother?"

Angel knew this one was coming. "Well… I mean, I have the feeling that he would've wanted me to win, and, well, to be honest, I didn't want to fight him in the final two. It… might've been better to end it then than later. But, you know, I did what I had to do to survive."

* * *

It had been several hours since the end of the finale. The audience had gone home, as did most of the workers. Livy stood alone on the dimly lit stage, watching a montage that was playing on TVs now on the only lit screen.

Something about the animals intrigued her. She knew what they were, the word was at the very back of her mind. But she couldn't reach it…

"Liv?" Crim padded behind her, slipping a hand around her waist. "You ready to go home?"

She twists around, looking into his dark eyes. He's tired, as is she- she can't wait to get to her bed on his couch. "Yeah," she replies, "I was just getting a last look."

Crim raises his eyes from her face to look around. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Life like this never gets old, does it?"

Livy shakes her head. She rises up on her toes to kiss Crim, who gently brings her closer to him. She breaks away after a moment, looking back around. Gripping his hand, she says, "Let's go."

He leads her off-stage, behind the dark curtain towards the stage door. Livy casts one final look back at the fading screen. Toria is there, circling the feathered lizard. The word itself doesn't come to mind, but the meaning does. "Thief," she says.

Crim gives her a look, but says nothing. He opens the door, and the two leave as the stage finally goes black.

* * *

AN: Well. Wow. That's another story done, and a decent sized one at that. No matter how many stories I complete, the sense of accomplishment still gets to me once I finish one up.

I'll be heading into the _Hunger Games_ fandom now. I have a good idea that I need to polish up, make a plotline for, etc, but we will be seeing Katniss and friends there. No word on the title yet- I haven't quite figured that out. Just be on the lookout, or author alert if you want to be safe.

Thanks to all my reviewers, and if you just read this story without reviewing, please do so. It'll make my day and let me know that my hard work has not been in vain.

I hope you guys liked this slightly different way of putting the Hunger Games and all the wonderful personalities I put in there. Ty is actually a real person, Hazel came from a different story, and Toria… well, remember how many times I've compared Toria to a bird? I was about halfway through this when I learned that 'tori' means bird in Japanese. It was completely accidental, and I love it.

Actually, Toria was based off something else, name, personality, and appearance. That something appeared in the story without me referring to it by name.

Drumroll please… all those animals in the arena… are real!

Early Cretaceous era dinosaurs (with the exception of the flyers- those are pterosaurs). They lived in roughly the same area (western USA) at about the same time. I'm not going to bore you with long scientific things, but I'll tell you who's who. If you have no interest in this sort of this, skip down to the bottom where there's a lovely button called "Review". Please press it for me!

Ahem.

Toria was based off of a Utahraptor, the reddish feathered lizard. Maniraptorians like it and Deinonychus (the grayish-blue ones) are believed to have feathers, and I actually gave them to my dinos, despite my dislike of drawing them (there are so many! T.T).

Pack hunting is a possibility, and footprints have been found from a group of Utahraptor-sized dinosaurs traveling in the same direction at about the same speed in an organized manner.

Oh, Toria's name came from Maniraptorian. I thought it was too long to be anywhere near a good name, so I took off 'mani' and the last 'n'. Raptoria was still a bit syllabley, so I took off 'rap' and… voila, Toria!

The ridgeback or sail-rex was an Acrocanthosaurus. It was a bit ahead of Utahraptors, I think, but, uh… the Gamemakers didn't care. Yes. They did not.

The long-necks were Astrodons, the grayish-blue herbivore lizards were Tenontosaurs, a common prey of Deinonychs, and the greeny ones were Iguanodon. The chainsaw-tail-thing is called a Gastonia, it seriously had that tail, and it's probably my favorite herbivore dinosaur because it, um, has a chainsaw on its tail. A bunch of prehistoric anti-raptor scissors, I suppose you could say.

The flyers were Ornithocheirus. They are pretty cool, fairly big, but not as big as the lovely Quetzalcoatlus (that was as big as a small airplane…).

Grasses didn't evolve until the very late Cretaceous, I believe, as did leaves.

So… yeah. I hope you guys enjoyed the story, enjoyed my research, liked the plot which I kept up with from an 11-page ref sheet… I guess this means good-bye for now, and, in _Hunger Games_ fashion… may the odds be _ever_ in your favor!


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